When the Rain Comes
by dracofan22
Summary: After the war, Hermione struggles to recover from her state of mourning, but there is one surprising person who shows his true colors to help her find happiness. See 1st ch. for full summary
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my new story, "When the Rain Comes". The first few chapters are sad, but I promise that they do get happier, so please stick with it until the fourth or so chapter when the mood picks up. It is told in first person from Hermione's point of view, but one thing my beta has been getting on me constantly about is that it switches from past to present tense a lot. I'm sorry about that, I guess I do that without even realizing it. I hope it wont confuse any of you, but if it does then please feel free to contact me and I can try and clear up any confusion. Thanks!**

It is no secret that war changes people, but no amount of expectance could have prepared Hermione Granger for the amount of loved ones she was going to lose in this war of good and evil. She is living through the times of reconstruction and recovery, but she is living through it very much alone. Alone… except for one. The one who she never thought she could trust is now the one she has no choice but go with on this journey home to happiness and safety, and to a day when she can play in the rain one last time.

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Looking out the ancient window pane to the dreary Scottish landscape, I could not help but sigh. As the heavy rain pelted the castle, I wanted nothing more than to be out there with the rain, feeling it, tasting it, breathing it. It was winter time that I missed my family the most. My old life, my old friends, my _everything_. It was almost four years ago that I swore I would never step foot in this castle again. Four years ago when I watched everything I loved disappear right before my eyes, with nothing I could do to stop it. Green light. That's all it was. A bright green light that had the power to claim the lives of hundreds. When he struck on our graduation day, even with the presence of the Ministry's most talented aurors, we were hopelessly over powered. The sheer thought of all the students, all of my friends, my peers, who died before their names could even be called out, still brings me to tears. I no longer read the Daily Prophet for fear that there will be something in it about the fallen. I watched my friends die in these halls. I watched Filch scrub the blood of my allies off these stone walls. And now I was back in the place that haunted my dreams and gave birth to my nightmares. Not a second goes by that I wonder how the Ministry got me here in the first place. I suppose it was the thought of Hogwarts going under and never teaching another student again. I could never let the school Albus loved so much go to the dogs. So I returned, much to my dismay, to attempt to fill the cloak Albus wore so well as Headmaster, but also as the charms professor. Most of the professors that passed their extensive knowledge down to me have since perished, leaving the remaining qualified witches and wizards to take their place as Hogwarts' finest.

Four years ago, after days of nonstop fighting amongst the two sides, with casualties mounting horrendously on both sides, the battle finally ended, but it did not bring relief. No one knew who had won, since everything was so destructed. All we knew was that it was over, and that the even more painful process of searching for lost ones was about to begin. Molly wouldn't let me help search, and according to her I was so angry that my wand was confiscated and I had to be locked up in Professor Trelawney's old class room so I couldn't go against her wishes. I don't remember any of it, I blacked out after I was locked up, and I was so shell shocked when I came off the "battlefield" that I knew better as my school, that everything is just a blur. When I was enervated the next day, the Ministry had successfully located and brought back every body that was strewn out across all of Hogwarts. Only Susan Bones was the body still alive when she was found. The rest... well, you know.

I could not have ever respected Molly more for what she had to do next. I found out later that she had told Ministry officials that it was only right that I hear it from her, not from some stranger. I remember so distinctly the way her graying hair was tied back loosely, swollen red eyes contrasting horribly with the dark bags beneath them; clothes tattered from days of wear and tear. She came to my bedside (I had been moved to the Hospital Wing whilst I was out cold) took hold of my hand, and told me that she was there for me.

"How many?" I asked blankly, wanting only straight answers. And Molly, never one to sugar coat things (one of the things I liked about her) gave me the hard answer.

"Two thousand, thirteen."

"How many of many of ours?"

"One thousand, four." She replied grimly. I had tried to swallow, but the lump in my throat was too large.

"Arthur?"

"No, sweetie. He's gone." She said, pain reading loud and clear in her eyes.

"Charlie?" I asked. She shook her head, eyes shut tight.

"Bill?" Again, her head motioned no.

"Percy?" The hand holding mine gripped tighter, and Molly's head bowed.

"F-fred and G-g-george?" My heart was beating faster._ Please _ I remember thinking, _Not the two who were so full of life._

Molly gave a choking sob and a low moan. That answered my question.

"R-" My voice wasn't working properly. I was nearly panting and I thought my eyes were about to pop out of their sockets because they were so wide. "_Ron_." I whispered. Molly let out a loud wail, and began sobbing into my shoulder. She had held me so tight I thought I would break, but in a way I already had. I felt sick to my stomach, but I needed to ask.

"Harry? Please Molly; please tell me he made it." I had begged her. She pulled back and looked at me. Cupping my cheek in her hand, she tried to smile, but I could tell it hurt too much.

"Oh Hermione, he saved us all. He was a real hero, honey."

_Was._

I bent over and threw up in my bedpan.

It hadn't occurred to me as I was on my side, heaving up stomach bile, to ask how Ginny was. I found out later that she was just fine. Molly had put her away as well, not only for the collection of fallen Order members, but for the battle too, down in the charms room. I don't know how in the name of Merlin Molly was still alive after losing the love of her life and all her boys, but I'm sure losing her only daughter as well would have surely killed her.

It was by some great miracle that my parents survived the war, hiding out with relatives in the United States, but the following year my mum developed breast cancer. She refused the magical treatment I offered, saying it was nature's way, but I had half a mind to perform the spells myself as she slept. I'd be damned if I lost her too. However, my daddy said the least we could do is respect her wishes. So I did. I let my mother die, and it was a war all over again.

Hogwarts has been closed for these last four years of recuperation. It has taken a lot of time, but the wizarding world has finally managed to get back up on its feet again. Now that we are up, it's time to learn how to walk. It was voted in a meeting with Ministry officials last month that Hogwarts should be reopened for new young ones and for the ones that were in the middle of school when the Voldemort attacked. For those whose graduation ceremony was impended upon, another ceremony was offered to be arranged, but was unanimously declined so the diplomas were owled out instead.

Well of course with no Dumbledore to run Hogwarts, there was a new Headmaster that needed appointing. Or in this case, Head_mistress_. I was working as an assistant to the head of the Experimental Charms Committee, Gibert Wimple, charms having always been a strong point of mine. A boring desk job was exactly what I wanted after the war. A day of shuffling papers, registering spells, and organizing committee meetings left me no time to lose myself in sorrow, and that was a good thing. One day I was entering a new batch of charms into the register when Rufus Scrimgeour, our new Minister, came up to my desk.

"We need a new Headmaster for Hogwarts, it's reopening." He had told me. I was a bit confused at first. Normally people talk to Becky Goldsbloom on the first floor when they want an add run in the Daily Prophet for jobs.

"Well Minister, I would suggest that you bring this up with someone from the newspaper…"

"Granger, you're going to do it. You are the only one qualified, and you were also going to graduate as Valedictorian before… the event, were you not?"

"Erm, yes but-"

"You went to school there, and no doubt know the castle better than anyone on my staff. Besides, I'm sure the students would appreciate having someone young and beautiful as opposed to some old fart I could rummage up."

"Yes but I'm only twenty-"

"Take the job Granger. You weren't meant to be an assistant. Do some justice to that brain of yours, and to the people who died for you."

And then the bloody wanker left. Just up and left. I assumed that there was no use trying to go to work the following week, as I was probably fired from that job. The idea of Hogwarts had scared me shitless, to be frank. I had no desire to return to that dead zone, and only Merlin knows what condition it was in after no use for four years. Yet what he said had opened up some old wounds. "Do some justice to the people who died for you." Personally, I thought he was way out of line with that remark, but I suppose it had its wanted effect because here I was, one month later, staring out of my new office from one of the highest towers in Hogwarts, ready to assume my position as Headmistress and Charms professor in September.

I turned away from the frosty window and back to the mountainous pile of letters on my desk. They were the acceptance letters for next year. All the students whose education had been interrupted are to receive letters inviting them back, and then there were just over one hundred students to be hand picked by myself, with aid of the sorting hat, to become new first years. I sighed again. This was going to be a lot of work. It was only late January, but not every child was right for Hogwarts, and reading through every book of birth certificates and separating the children into groups according to age, gender, location, and blood (to make sure there was an equal mix of pureblood, half blood, and muggle born) was no walk in the park. Then the sorting hat would guess what house the potential student would be in, and then the students would have to separated into groups by assumed houses as well, so that one house is not full and another empty. It is a very lengthy process.

Fortunately, one thing the Ministry did do was hire Professors to teach the classes, so that is one less thing I have to do. All the house elves that worked at the school before Albus died are being brought back, but of course I am raising their salary. It does not matter if you are elf or gnome; you still deserve equal pay and treatment as humans! That's all I was trying to say with S.P.E.W, but everyone took it entirely the wrong way. I just don't understand how they can be so insensitive…

_I should really get some rest now, tomorrow is going to be hell_.

The clock on the far wall of my office flashed 11:47 PM, and I groaned. Tomorrow the rest of the professors will be joining me here at the castle for inspection of the four house dormitories to see what is still decent and what needs to be replaced. I would give my left leg if it meant I didn't have to go into the Gryffindor common room. So many memories were made in that room. So many tears shed, so much laughter, so much sorrow, but also, so much hope. Harry, Ron and I concocted some of our biggest schemes by that fireplace, and I had my first kiss there as well.

_Dear Merlin, not again, please._

I felt the familiar burning come to my eyes as they began to mist up. They always do this when I think of Harry or Ron. It has gotten better, of course. At first I felt I would never fully be able to live again, but at least now I can breathe, and I'm trying to move on, really I am.

Scooping up as many of the letters as I could carry, I began to climb up the spiral staircase at the back of my office that led to my bedchamber. Personally, I think when the Ministry refurbished it for me they went a little overboard. The deep purple velvet draperies are nice, and the genuine silk sheets are fine, as are the plush Persian rugs, but I prefer modesty over exuberant displays of wealth. I couldn't turn it down though. Parvati Patil from the design team on the third floor had decorated it herself, and she was so proud of it when she showed it to me, I just thanked her graciously. It's been so hard for her since her sister Padma died in the battle, the poor girl. I wasn't very close to the Patil sisters during school, but they always seemed pleasant for the most part. I dropped the stack of letters onto the rich, hand carved mahogany bedside table, and started my pre-bed rituals.

Take down the hair, pull off the clothes, put on pajamas, wash off makeup, and slip on reading glasses. Turn down the covers, slide between the sheets, switch on the small lamp by the bed, and open a thick volume for light reading before slumber. Fall asleep with heavy book on chest. That is my routine. It hasn't changed since my later Hogwarts years, but tonight I was signing letter after letter instead of indulging myself in magnificent works of literary fiction.

_Sincerely, Hermione Granger, Headmistress and Charms Professor... Sincerely, Hermione Granger, Headmistress and Charms Professor... Sincerely, Hermione Granger, Headmistress and Charms Professor..._

One, after another, after another… This was more boring than checking Harry and Ron's potion essays for errors back in school. From my bed I could see through the window on the opposite wall. The rain was still pouring relentlessly down on Hogwarts, and I still wanted to go twirl around in it, despite my growing fatigue. Reminding myself that I was an adult now, one with very large tasks ahead of her, I turned back to my letters.

I believe I was about halfway through Ravenclaw when I fell asleep. During that short moment between consciousness and deep slumber, I vaguely recall the quill slipping from my fingers and falling to the floor beside the bed, and the neat stack of letters sliding into a messy heap beside me where I imagine my boyfriend (should I ever get one) would sleep. I was roused from slumber at a quarter to three in the morning by loud, booming claps of thunder that shook the castle. When you have lived through a war of any kind, but particularly the violent ones, you become highly sensitive to loud noises, so naturally, the thunder scared the crap out of me. I leaped out of bed, stepping on and breaking my favorite quill, then hopped about on one foot, clutching the other in pain as I fumbled for my wand.

"Lumos." I managed to locate it on the bedside table, and light it. Soft light brightened up the room, scaring off the eerie shadows and chasing away the darkness. Relaxing, I sat back down on my bed, exhausted but wide awake. Bending to pick up the broken quill pieces, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Ahhhhh!" I screamed, nearly jumping out of my skin. I was supposed to be alone in the castle until noon tomorrow. Well, today technically, but whatever. My eyes darted back and forth, up and down, scanning the entire room quickly and with the precision I had picked up from the many years of training I had been given against the dark arts.

"Who's there?" I called out.

From behind my bureau a small house elf nervously stepped forward. She was shaking visibly, even her large ears trembling in fear.

"Tis only Pinkey Miss. Pinkey was cleaning Miss's office and heard you wake up. I thoughts I might bring Miss some tea to calm her nerves. Pinkey is sorry for startling you."

"You were cleaning at three o'clock in the morning?"

"Pinkey is very sorry Miss! She did not know Miss would be upset. Pinkey just wanted to stay out of Miss's way because she knew she has a busy day today."

"No, no! I'm not upset at all. But you should be in bed getting some rest. Once the children get here none of us may get any rest, so we should enjoy it while we can. Thank you for the tea, and don't worry, you are never in the way. I appreciate all the good work you do Pinkey. Now go get some rest." I said gently to the small elf.

"Miss is too kind to Pinkey. Thanks you Miss Hermione, yous a good witch."

"Good night Pinkey." I bid the creature goodbye and accepted the tea that she held out to me.

She disappeared with a Pop and I shuffled back to bed cradling my tea. Once I was under the covers again, I realized that there was no way that I was going to be able to go back to sleep. Reaching over to the jumbled pile of letters, I re-separated them into signed and unsigned piles and then accio-ed a new quill from my desk. Sighing loudly, I turned back to the seemingly never ending task.

_Sincerely, Hermione Granger, Headmistress and Charms Professor... Sincerely, Hermione Granger, Headmistress and Charms Professor... Sincerely, Hermione Granger, Headmistress and Charms Professor..._

I had signed about a dozen letters when suddenly it hit me.

"Hermione Granger, Headmistress and Charms Professor." I whispered to myself.

_Merlin's feet, I'm titled! I **AM** something, I did something with my life, and I'm about to take accountability for seven hundred children, some of which are not much younger than me. Bloody hell!_

An hour later, every last piece of parchment had been signed, and I was still awake thought I had only gotten three hours of sleep. Outside the storm and blown over, and now the sky was beginning to show signs of bright red and pink where the sun was threatening to rise.

_I need to get out of this castle before I go as batty as Professor Trelawney._

I pulled on my winter coat and slid my feet into the nearest shoes I could find, which turned out to be my pink ballet flats, and went down my spiral staircase, out the office door, and into the dark, dank, cobweb filled corridor. The castle bared no resemblance to the castle I have in my memories. The one is there is light, dry, and despite its tremendous size, held a very home-like feeling. Now, the statues and gargoyles look evil and mysterious, the suits of armor seem abrasive, and the candle sconces are rusty. Back in my Hogwarts days, I knew every inch of this castle, even the forbidden parts, but this morning I keep having to stop and try to figure out where I am. An unsettling unfamiliarity of my surroundings has given me chills.

I made it up to the Astronomy Tower after some effort. The door that led to the roof was jammed shut. Grunting and pushing, I finally got it to open enough so that I could slip through. On the other side of the small, stubborn door, I saw that vines had grown over it, and that's what had caused all my pushing and shoving. Looking around, I found a good sized stone brick that I could sit on and watch the sun rise. All around me on the walls were little etchings like "E.W + F.D forever" and "Kasey J. loves Brooke C.". This place was always popular among the young lovers of Hogwarts. Back in fifth year, I would always lose sleep at night because Pavati and Lavender would stay up until ungodly hours talking about their all their romantic escapades to the Astronomy Tower. I never had any. The only time I would come up here would be for class, with the soul intent to examine the stars, and not a boy's lips.

The sky was red, and purple now, with tinges of pink streaked through. It is cold up here, and my sensibility is asking me why I didn't dress properly.

_It's mine_. I thought greedily. _All of this... it's mine. This castle, those trees, this air, that cloud... this SPACE._

Sure, I knew that no one could actually _own_ air, or clouds or even the castle land (it was left to the ministry.) but I controlled it. I was a queen and this was my kingdom. Standing up from my seat on the mossy brick, and walked up to the ledge, removed my shoes, and stepped up onto it. My toes curled around the edge of the stone brick. If I fell, no one would be there to save me, and only the house elves might hear me scream, but I don't care. I knew that in my heart it was time to let go of the resentment I felt towards this castle, and it was time to start loving it and appreciating it again the way that Albus did. If I didn't, then this job that I may have for Merlin knows how many years, would be a living hell. Spreading my arms out, I filled my lungs with as much crisp air as they could hold, and I screamed.

I screamed out all of my anger for not being able to help more, my anger at Molly for holding me back, my anger at Albus for dying when we needed him most, my anger at Voldemort may he rot in stinking hell, my anger at all his pathetic deatheaters that killed so many of the people I loved, my sadness for standing two hundred feet in the air above where Harry and Ron fell dead to the ground, my sadness for my mother being so bloody stubborn and refusing treatment, and my father for letting her, my sadness for not wanting this fucking job in the first place, but now not being able to see myself in any other position but this, my frustration with being merely twenty years old and knowing every kind of pain, but only one kind of love, my frustration with being in a gigantic castle all by myself with no one but a nervous house elf to talk to, my frustration with those bloody acceptance letters, my frustration with having to order a new pensive every other month because they overflow so darn quickly, and my desire to be loved by someone who will never leave me, and will sleep in that spot that is usually occupied by books or paper work.

I screamed, and I didn't feel better, but then again, I didn't feel worse either.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: ATTENTION PLEASE! THIS IS IMPORTANT! Alrighty then, first order of business: I am very sorry about the switching of tenses. I do it automatically as I am writing and usually don't even realize it, but its something I can't help and don't have to energy to go back and correct because there would be far to much re-wording for my liking. My guess is that the whole story is going to be like that, and if that is a huge bother to you then you can either A) Stop reading it. **_OR_** B) e-mail or message me if something confuses you and I will be happy to try and clear it up. Second of all: My grammar (as well as my spelling) is not that great, and to add to that when I upload my stories from Microsoft Word sometimes the grammatical marks don't transfer and make it even worse, so again, I'm sorry. I read over the stories before I post, but often times I just skim and miss a few of the mistakes. And just to answer a question left by one reviewer, yes, Harry is dead, but Voldemort WAS defeated. I hope the story makes more sense now. Thank you for reading! --Kat  
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Once I had come down from the tower, I had only a few hours to pull myself together and look presentable until the minister would come to the school bringing with him my staff that I would be meeting for the first time. After I showered and dried, I pulled my hair back into a French twist, put on my black business skirt with matching black top, black Hogwarts robes, and black shoes. Being headmistress, I could wear whatever color robes I desired, but personally I liked black. It was plain, it was professional, and it matched with everything. Lastly, I applied a small touch of make up, and then my reading glasses, even though I didn't really need them. I thought they made me look more sophisticated.

Descending my stairwell, I walked to my desk and sat down at it. For the first time in weeks it was clutter free, and didn't have a single letter on it. Every morning since my arrival, the house elves had always put a fresh copy of The Daily Prophet on my desk, and every morning, I had just chucked it into the bin without so much as a single glance at it, but today, I couldn't ignore the front page article that leaped out at me. It was _ME_. A large photograph of me right smack dab in the middle of the page directly under the headline: **Dumbledore's Successor; Will She Sink Or Swim?** I couldn't resist it. It was about me, I had to know what people were saying about me while I was stuck in this place that was beginning to feel like solitary confinement.

Dumbledore's Successor: Will She Sink Or Swim?

_Hermione Granger, twenty one years of age and single, is about to embark on her greatest adventure yet: being Headmistress at one of Europe's most prestigious Wizarding Schools. It was announced to the press Monday that the young witch is to replace the late Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Voted the brightest witch of her age, Miss Granger is an unsurprising candidate for Headmaster, yet there is speculation as to whether Miss Granger's young age and lack of professional teaching experience qualifies her for the job. Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour believes that she has what it takes. "Granger was preparing to graduate as Valedictorian in her year before the tragic strike, and she knows that castle like the back of her hand. Not to mention that temper of hers, I pity the student who gets on her bad side! Chuckles She can do it. If she can't... well then there isn't much hope out there for any of us. Damn determined that girl is, not a thing she can't do. Give her a week and she'll do it in a day twice as good as anyone on my payroll. Every one just needs to have a little faith in her." Before the offer that changed her life, Hermione Granger was working as an assistant to the Head of Experimental Charms Committee, doing no justice to "that brain of hers" as put by her former boss, Gilbert Wimple. Miss Granger is currently mourning the loss of many loved ones, including famed Harry Potter and friend Ronald Weasley, son of admired Ministry worker Arthur Weasley. Miss Granger was unavailable for a comment on this article as her whereabouts are unknown, but the Prophet hopes that she will be back in the pubic eye when school starts again on September 1st. To Miss Granger if you are reading, we wish you the best of luck, you may need it._

_-Lead reporter, Gloria Trombous  
_

"_Best of luck, you may need it_? What? I hope they don't know something I don't." I said to no one in particular.

"You've seen the paper, I take it my dear?"

I looked up and the Minister was standing in my doorway. "Oh, um, yes Minister, I have. I must thank you for your nice quote. It is comforting to know some one believes in me, even if I may not myself. Won't you come in?" He shook his head.

"No, no. Please, do not thank me, it was nothing. And I was actually hoping that we could proceed to the Great Hall to meet the others. They shall be arriving shortly."

"Of course Minister." I rose from my desk and followed him to the Great Hall. When we got there, it was empty except for one man who was standing with his back to us and a large trunk by his side. The Minister approached him, so naturally, so did I.

"Miss Granger, my I introduce you to your new Herbology Professor, Neville Longbottom." The man turned around, and smiled when his eyes hit mine.

"Neville!"

"Hullo Hermione. Or should I say, Headmistress."

"Oh please Neville, don't tease me. It's wonderful to see you again. Congratulations on getting the job! It will be great working with you." I tried my best to sound happy, or at least normal, but I honestly hadn't had this much social contact with any one of my old classmates since... it happened.

Neville's cheeks tinged pink, and he lowered his eyes slightly.

"You haven't changed at all Hermione, you're still a great friend."

"Aww, thanks Neville."

"Ahem, excuse me Miss Granger, more have arrived." The Minister whispered into my ear.

"Oh, well I've got to go meet the others. I'll speak to you at dinner Neville." I gave him a short wave as the Minister took hold of my elbow and gently pulled me over to some others. Neville was a good bloke, but I felt the need to get away from anyone who knew me in school, so in a way I was grateful for the switch. A few of the people in the group I recognized, and a few I didn't. I began to worry a little bit because the few that I didn't know look good few years older than me, and I didn't want them to be resentful about working for someone younger.

Minister Scrimgeour directed me first to an elegant looking woman in deep red robes, with straight brown hair pulled neatly into a low ponytail so as not to cover her soft, friendly looking features.

"Miss Granger, this is Miss Carmondy Carmichael, she will be head of the Gryffindor house and will be teaching Arithmancy. Before she applied to Hogwarts she was working as a personal tutor to children in St. Mungo's and running her own children's bookstore in Hogsmeade."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Carmondy. I would love to discuss books with you some time."

"Yes, that would be lovely." She responded politely.

"Great. Now over here," He pulled me over to a portly man with a thick mustache and a heavy upper lip. "Is Mr. Edward Eughlar."

"That's Eughlar, pronounced 'you-lar'." Mr. Eughlar interrupted.

"Oh, um alright, Eughlar, got it." Something about his manner did not set right with me, and I was wishing the Minister would hurry up with his introductions already.

"Mr. Eughlar is heading the Ravenclaw house, and teaching Muggle Studies and Care for Magical Creatures. He was also one of the candidates for Headmaster." The mist was back. My eyes clouded over, the tear ducts kicking into overdrive.

_Poor Hagrid. What a great, great man he was._

I sniffed and looked up to the ceiling, holding the tears back.

"It is nice to meet you acquaintance sir, I look forward to deliberating with you." I looked to Mr. Scrimgeour and gave him the 'lets move on' look.

"Do you think you're going to able to run a whole school little lady?" Mr. Eughlar asked somewhat rudely.

_Oh! Well if that's what he's really thinking..._

"Yes. I know that I can." I said confidently, even if I was still a bit worried on the inside.

_Who is he to question my authority? And I have only just met him as well! Prick..._

"And over here is Mary McBride. She just moved here from Cork."

"Oh, you're from Ireland?" I asked. She nodded shyly. She was a petite little woman. Her wavy yellow hair fell sheepishly into her eyes when she looked to the floor.

"Mary will be heading Hufflepuff house and teaching transfiguration."

She nodded again in compliance with what the Minister had said, and added, "I read this book... um, I think it's called Hogwarts, A History but I'm afraid there is still a lot I do not understand about this school. It is much larger that anything I am used to."

"Not to worry, Mary. That is Hermione's favorite book, and I'm sure she would be happy to answer any of your questions."

"Bye." I said before being hauled off once again. He parked me in front of a very tall, very thin, and rather... pointy woman. She looked like she meant business. Her sharp nose alone made her look quite strict, but her height made her even more intimating. I suppose she was at least fifteen years older than me. The bags under her eyes and worry lines in her forehead hinted at her older age.

"Hermione, this is Priscilla Pinehurst. She is the librarian."

"I do not tolerate ruckus of any kind. I hope I will be able to work with you, and not against you." Priscilla said stiffly, her large nose pointed into the air.

"Ahem, of course, I... I agree."

_Why did I stutter? Now she's going to think I'm a ninny._

"And here," Minister Scrimgeour was moving more quickly now. "Lavender Brown, the History of Magic professor, you know her, correct? Wonderful, old friends together again, brilliant." I flashed Lavender a halfhearted smile as I was ushered past her, and she gave a small one back. She was in the hospital wing on the bed next to me when Molly had me enervated, and she saw and heard everything. She pitied me no doubt, but all I could do now was follow the Minister on his little 'meet and greet' tour.

"Poppy Pomfrey, yes, still a devoted one that woman. You know her quite well if I'm not mistaken..." As I walked past her, Madame Pomfrey reached out and gave my hand a kind squeeze. "Jacque Sardou, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor,"

"Pleasure." He said, dipping into a short bow.

"Jacque is from France. He attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, and has a special talent for DADA."

Jacque is quite handsome, and I won't be surprised at all if a few of the female students develop school-girl crushes on him with his perfectly combed jet black hair, stylish clothes, and French accent. I probably would find him attractive as well, but he isn't my type. I learned that if they are better kept than I am, they are probably high maintenance and snotty. Example A: Draco Malfoy, which was probably why I was the only girl in school that didn't fall head over heals for that gel abusing git. Well that, and the fact he was a deatheater.

"Rolanda Hootch, flying instructor, yes you know her from your own school days... always nice to have a few of the veterans back... and now where did that potions boy get to? My goodness that boy moves faster than firebolt..." Minister Scrimgeour released my arm and was frantically looking around the Great Hall.

"Perhaps he is not here yet Minister. He could just be running a little behind today…" I was tired. I really wanted to go take a nap, three hours not being nearly enough sleep. As the Minister looked back at me, he caught me mid yawn. My mouth was stretched wide open, my eyes squinting. He shot me a puzzled look, and I shut my mouth quickly.

"Tired Miss Granger?" He asked.

"Yes sir. Unfortunately I was kept up by the storm last night."

"What a pity. Well, if that damnable boy gets here before we all kneel over and die, I can leave you and the Heads to evaluate the house towers." Before I could reply, the sound of the heavy double doors behind opened caught my attention and I looked to see who was entering. It was someone with a **great** body, sexy, tousled 'bed head' hair and immaculate clothing. Someone with confidence in their step, someone who looked frighteningly like--

"Draco Malfoy! Boy I though the Earth had opened up and swallowed you whole! What took you so long?"

"I had other business to attend to. But it's no matter since I'm here now, aren't I? Where are all the house elves? I have some trunks that need carrying."

"You may leave them in the entry hall Mr. Malfoy, they will be carried up later. Now, Miss Granger, won't you come here?"

_No._

_No, no._

_No, no, no, no, NO_

"No."

"What was that?"

_Crap._

"Oh, um, I didn't say anything."

_Did he just smirk? I think he did. I could have sworn..._

"Good, good. Well Miss Granger, this is Draco Malfoy, your new Potions professor and Head of Slytherin house. Mr. Malfoy, this is Hermione Granger, the new Headmistress."

_Oh that's it. Just Avada Kedavra me right now._

"We've met." I said coldly. _He_ still hadn't said anything.

"Lovely. I will just leave you with the rest of them for the evaluation of the castle, and let me know tomorrow what repairs are needed, and then my restoration team will be here first thing on Monday." He stuck his hand out for me to shake. I did, and then stepped back. Tipping his hat, he left, leaving me with a group of people to dictate. While I was thinking of the order of which I wanted to go through the castle, I had forgotten that Draco Malfoy was still beside me, watching me with an amused expression.

"Gods, Granger... how many hours of sleep did you get last night? Four? The bags under your eyes match your bland outfit perfectly."

"Three, actually. Interesting how I managed to be on time nevertheless, isn't it? And since I am your superior and your coworker, I must insist that you call me Hermione for the sake of appearances." I shot back. There was no way he was actually concerned about me, he only wanted to poke fun.

"Yes, quite interesting **Hermione.** But what I am finding more interesting is how much some of us have grown up in four years." He said flirtatiously.

"Or how some of us haven't." I snapped.

_Not true. Merlin's toes he looks good! Still a complete pervert though. He will be all over Carmondy by supper I bet._

"I think all that black is putting you in a bad mood."

"I don't think it's my clothing that's causing my frustration, **Draco**." Before he could say anything, I tried to grab everyone's attention.

"Excuse me everyone! May I have your attention please?" I called out. The all looked at me expectantly, their conversations dying down to a low murmur. "Now that most of us have had a chance to get acquainted, I think this would be as good a time as any to begin the inspection. If you would all follow me, we can visit the house common rooms and classrooms to see what, if anything, needs repairing after the four year closing." I motioned to them with my hand, and they followed in a pack behind Draco and I.

"This ought to be fun. First head boy and girl together, now this." Draco said quietly to me. I could not tell if he was joking or not, and that bothered me.

"Do not confuse your job description with mine, Draco. You work for me, not with me."

"Exactly what I said. It ought to be fun."

"Oh? And you think that you're going to be able to handle being under a woman?" I wasn't looking at him but I knew by the tone of his voice that he was smirking. I wanted to eat my words.

"Oh yes, I love being under a woman as a matter of fact. I find it to be very pleasurable for both parties."

"Get your mind out of the gutter for Merlin's sake. This is a school." He put his hands up in the air defensively.

"Hey, I didn't say a single sexual thing, it was all in how you interpreted it. So maybe you should be the one to pull out that head."

_That stupid bugger can't just turn it around on me like that! It's not fair!_

"I don't have time for this." I said. I turned around but kept walking. "Our first stop will be the Slytherin common room and dormitories down in the dungeons. If you see something that needs fixing, cleaning or updating, just write it down on these," I waved my wand and everyone was suddenly holding a clipboard and a quill. "And I will collect them at the end of the castle examination." Opening the portrait hole, we filed in one by one until we were all inside.

"Women, if you would please check the girls' dorms and men to the boys' please. I will stay down here and I shall take care of the common room."

_Ripped couches need to be reupholstered, fireplace is missing two bricks, aurors need to scan for any objects left behind containing dark magic, mirrors are shattered, cobwebs and dust are everywhere..._ I was writing down my list of necessary improvements when I could feel someone's eyes over my shoulder.

"Objects containing dark magic? I'm insulted. Us Slytherins would never hide dark objects for the future generations to find and use to take over the world!" I knew he was kidding, I just knew it, but there was something about the way Draco Malfoy talked about dark magic that made me want to crawl out of my own skin. I turned on him and grabbed his wrist, shoving his dark green ribbed sweater up to his elbow.

"When you can no longer see this," I traced the faint scar of the dark mark on his forearm with one of my fingers. I could see the goose bumps rise on his arm. "Then I will believe every word you say. Until then..." I pulled his sweater sleeve back down for him, and walked away to look at an old organ that sat in the far corner.

_Remove organ in Slytherin common room and dispose. There is no need to sound like a mortuary._


	3. In the Arms of the Enemy

The group had made its way back down from the two dormitories, clipboards full of suggestions.

"Alright everyone, we are going to continue going upward through all the houses, and classrooms. Along the way we will also pass lavatories, which need to be evaluated as well. We have a lot to do, so let's get to it." I said, directing them through the Slytherin portrait hole again and back into the castle corridor.

"Now, for general information, right now we are still in the dungeons and sublevels, but we about to move into a different division of the dungeons, where the kitchens and Hufflepuff common room and dormitories are located. If you would..." I turned my back on them and started off towards the kitchens.

"Had some time to explore the dungeons while you had this place to yourself, didn't you?"

_Ugh is he still following me? Well... I mean of course he's supposed to follow me, but not **follow**_ me.

"Draco, I have known theses dungeons better than you since our third year."

"Oh? And how did you manage that, almighty Headmistress?" He mocked.

"You can go anywhere you please as long as no one sees you." I kept walking, my eyes dead ahead, but I could see from the corner of my eye that he was really mulling that one over.

"You stole Potter's invisibility cloak?" He said with an amused laugh. I raised an eyebrow and stayed quiet. I hadn't stolen it, he had let me borrow it for my nighttime raids of the restricted section in the library. I just... took a detour back to the Gryffindor tower.

"Seriously?" He asks, still not believing me. Honestly, I don't see how difficult it was to believe that I was a very curious one in school. It seemed all quite normal to me. I shot him a look that said, very clearly, 'Duh'. He laughed. I mean, really laughed. His head was back and he was laughing. I'm sure to all the others it looked like we were having a private joke-fest, but when I looked back at the group they all had their own side conversations going, not paying a lick of notice to me or Draco. It occurred to me that I had never heard him laugh before. I had heard him scoff, mock, and occasionally chuckle, but never laugh. Oddly enough, for someone so dark, his laugh was friendly and easy, and I couldn't help it when the corners of my lips began to curl upwards.

The air around us was becoming warmer, and there was a faint but growing smell of food. The sound of pots and pans clanging together, knives chopping, and water boiling could be heard, and the closer we got, so could dozens of little voices.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching the kitchens. If you would be so kind as to not disturb the house elves at this time, as they are busy preparing our lunch, that would be wonderful. However, if you would like a drink or a snack then you are more then welcome to ask Pinkey, who I will introduce you to in a moment, and she will get it for you." As we rounded the corner, we were greeted by Pinkey who was standing in front of the giant portrait of fruit.

"Everyone, this is Pinkey. She will be glad to get you whatever you need, but please remember that house elves are our helpful friends, not our servants." There were a few laughs from Pricilla, Edward, and Draco. Did they think I was joking? Because I surely wasn't.

_I swear, some people are so rude._

"To open the kitchen portrait, all you need to do is tickle the pear like so," I reached up and ticked it right underneath the stem. It began to giggle before transforming into a door handle. "And the pear will change into a handle, and all you have to do is pull." I pulled it open and stepped aside so that everyone could see past me to the inner workings of the kitchens. I released the handle and let the portrait swing shut. I few groans of disappointment met my actions, but we didn't have the time, and I didn't have the patience to sit and wait while everyone stuffed themselves full of food.

"Now moving on," I led them through a few corridors and up one small set of stairs to the Hufflepuff common room. Opening it up and ushering the small herd inside, I observed the state of the common room, whist the others checked dorms.

"You know, I shagged every seventh year Hufflepuff girl and I was never able to find it." Draco marveled. I rolled my eyes.

_Man whore..._

"Why am I not surprised? I just don't know how you got all those nice, innocent Hufflepuffs to fall for someone like you."

"Well I wasn't just them you know, they were the easy ones. The Gryffindors were the hardest." He said nonchalantly while wiping some dust from an old desk.

"What?"

"Yeah. I shagged every seventh year girl at Hogwarts. Well, all but one."

"All but one?"

"Yes. All but you."

_Well I didn't see that one coming..._

"...I..." I wasn't really sure how to take that. I mean, how do you?

"I didn't even bother with you. It would have been a waste of time, because I knew that while you would probably be my best conquest by far, you had Potter and Weasley as body guards. Those two were the tightest chastity belt ever. I bet you never had a boyfriend in school, did you?"

Damn the mist. Damn my overactive tear ducts. Damn Draco for saying their names.

_Harry, Ron. Gods above I miss you two. _

I sniffled and blinked rapidly, trying to chase them away. Too late. He spotted them.

"Damnit Hermione. You better not be crying. I don't handle crying girls very well."

"Shove off you heartless git. It's only the dust. I'm allergic."

"Yes, and Longbottom is a potions whiz. I know you miss them, and I'm sorry I brought it up. But it's been four years Hermione, don't you think you should-"

"Draco Malfoy, you do **not **want to finish that sentence. I have been trying. I've been really… really trying." I said coldly. How dare he try and tell me to get over it?

"Look, it's not easy to be in this castle for me either, okay?"

I couldn't help it, I had to laugh. What could have been so bad for him here? Was kissing up to Snape really that tiring? Did he run out of first years to bully? Was his Quidditch broom not fast enough?

"Oh? And just what horrible **trama** happened to you that was worse than losing all of your loved ones? What is worse than having to be locked up so you can't help your friends that are dying!"

"Never having them to begin with." He said. There was something strange about the way he said that. It confused me. It wasn't soft or compassionate, or sorrowful, but kind of like... disappointment or remorse.

_I can see how that would be lonely, but those boys were my world. My friends, my family, and I needed them._

"I'm not going to get into this with you, of all people. I don't want to talk about it right now." I turned my back to him and straightened a crooked painting on the wall.

"You are never going to feel like talking about it. You just let their deaths mull around inside you until eventually its going to eat you alive. No one can even say their names without you crying like a baby about it."

"Oh yeah? Well since when did you become the expert? Hmm? Because that last I checked you were on the side that killed them! The side that took them away from me!" I hissed. I would have yelled, hell, I would have SCREAMED at him right then, but the others would have heard me and come down to see what the commotion was. And that would have been very inappropriate for the new Headmistress to be yelling at a professor so soon.

"I know plenty about what it is to lose a loved one Hermione."

"Try losing an entire family in less than two years, then come to me and tell me you know what it is to feel pain. We are finished here." The others trooped down the stairwell not long after I said that, and I did my best to hurry them along.

"Now to the ground floor... we have the Great Hall, the chamber where the first years are kept until sorting, the staff room, classroom eleven where our Divination Professor conducts his lessons, caretaker's office..."

"... First floor. Muggle Studies, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic are all taught here. There is the Hospital Wing, and also Miss Carmichael, your office is off to the right there..."

"...Second floor. This bathroom has been out of order for many years, and there is a ghost in there that likes to make sure we keep it that way, and Monsieur Sardou your office is down that hall..."

"...Third floor. Charms classroom to the left, Trophy room on the right..."

"...Fourth floor. The library and a few empty rooms used primarily for storage nowadays..."

"...Fifth floor. The four prefects bathrooms, one for each house, are directly down the West corridor and on the left hand side..."

The group was getting tired by the time we reached the sixth floor, and so was I. In fact, if it hadn't been that we were halfway done with the tour of the castle I probably would have collapsed and asked Draco to finish it, except that I wasn't speaking to him at the moment. I still could not believe the nerve of that man, it was... well, unbelievable. I don't know why he thinks he bloody knows everything. **He **didn't have all of his friends murdered, **he** didn't have to let his mother die, and **he** was not about to run an entire bloody school.

"...Sixth floor. Nothing much to see here really..."

"...Seventh floor. The Charms office, which would have been mine should I not have been chosen Headmistress is to the right, but will be used for storing charms equipment instead. The second Divination class room is on this floor but can only be accessed by a ladder, and the Gryffindor common room is right this way. If you would go through the portrait of the Fat Lady in the pink silk dress, it will lead you right though."

This was what I was dreading. This was the place that I did not want to go, the last place that Harry, Ron, and I were together alone. Our last real conversation was here, our last group hug, our last promise to stay friends forever, no matter what crossed our paths, or no matter how much distance was between us. At the time I had never imagined that the distance that separated us would be this great, but death really is the greatest distance.

_Just breathe, don't think about it, just breathe._

The group looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to lead them. I nodded to them and opened the portrait that as of yet did not require a password. As Lavender passed by me, she reached out and gave my hand a comforting squeeze and a "You can do it" smile. But I was far from being comfortable. The portrait creaked on its' hinges, and I slowly walked into the dark common room after the last person had stepped through. The air was heavy with dust, as every other common room and classroom we had seen before was, but this one held a different kind of heaviness. This was the room that we held our ground in. When the war broke out, students rushed here, thinking it was safe. It was so quiet that I could almost hear the hysterical sobbing of the terrified first years that clung to the older students for some kind of comfort. I could see the pale faces of students who tried fruitlessly to apperate home. I was even more scared now than I was then, seeing and feeling the ghosts of my deceased classmates . This time when the tears came, I let them. The other professors were already upstairs taking notes on the state of the dorms. Books had been left open from where kids had been studying. I pulled out a piece of paper that was sticking out of one of the couches and flattened it out.

_"Why I deserve to pass potions; by Seamus Finnigan"_

My hand rushed to my mouth and I held in a sob.

_The fucking Ministry! They said they cleared it out! They said there was nothing left! They promised... they told me it was empty of all the things I..._

I don't know what possessed me to do it. I don't know why I did it when I knew it would only cause me more pain, but a part of me just had to know if it was there... if any of it was still there. Running up the stairs of the seventh year boys' dormitories, and brushing past Draco, Neville, Edward, and Jacque, I burst into their room. There is was. Their beds, still unmade from the last time they slept in it. Their dirty towels from the bath hanging on the bedpost. Their trunks... still unlocked with their shirts hanging out. There was a photo album on Harry's, and an orange Chudley Cannons hat on Ron's.

I shattered again. Staggering forward, I grabbed hold of the ugly orange hat and a fistful of Harry's sheets and I fell to the ground in a tight ball, sobbing harder that I ever had in my entire life. Harder than I had when they died, harder than I had the first night I spent alone in this castle. I wanted to slip out of consciousness, I wanted to be gone from this place. The room even still _smelled_ like boy. On the floor not too far from me was the bottle of cologne that the pair had doused themselves with before graduation, thinking it made them smell more "manly". I picked it up and pulled off the cap, sniffing it cautiously. The scent tickled my nose and I felt as if I was going to sneeze, but instead I just cried my heart out. It felt like an eternity alone up in that room, but in reality I was probably only up there for about three minutes before Draco came in, crouched down beside me and pried the items from my arms.

"Stop doing this to yourself." He whispered to me. I waved my arms out, trying to reclaim what he took, but I only succeed in throwing myself into him. When I tried to pull back, I discovered I couldn't because he had his arms around me tight, keeping my face pressed to his chest. Seeing this, it only made me cry harder, but I supposed I needed to. I needed to cry. All the time and effort I put into **not** crying had really worn me down. So that is how I found myself mourning the loss of my best friends. In the arms of the enemy, which felt closer to home than anything else I had felt in four dark, sad years.


	4. Chapter 4

I hadn't had a man show so much patience and so much gentleness towards me since the last time I saw my father. Draco pulled me up so that I was sitting on Neville's old bed (He wasn't allowing me near Harry or Ron's again) and helped me clean myself up. Producing a handkerchief from his pocket, he gave it to me and I wiped the remaining tears off my face while he smoothed my hair back, tucking what had fallen from the French twist behind my ears. Taking a deep, staggering breath and looked up at the wall in front of me, I started staring at it blankly.

A finger under my chin forced me to look back at Draco. He was sitting next to me, his body turned so that he was facing me, holding my glasses. He carefully hooked them around my ears and let them rest on the bridge of my nose.

"This never happened."

I nodded.

_Did he mean the sobbing or the random act of kindness on his part? Perhaps he meant both._

"Come on, the rest will be waiting for us in the common room."

"Could I just...?" I began, looking wistfully at the hat and the picture album. He sighed soundly but picked them up and tucked them under his arm. Just as I reached the doorway, I turned around. I couldn't **not** thank him, it would be incredibly rude.

"Thanks." I said softly. He just nodded and lightly pressed on my lower back, trying to get me to keep moving. I walked shakily down the stairs, my legs feeling like jello and my stomach feeling like a frog was hopping around in it.

_Pull yourself together, Hermione! They're all watching you!_

I scolded myself. Lavender put her hand on my shoulder, and Neville patted me on the back.

"Alright there, Mione?" He asked shyly.

"Yes, I'm quite alright Neville. Thank you." I gave them both whatever smile I could muster, which I imagine would be a rather weak one, and exited through the portrait hole with the entire group on my heels. I lead them wordlessly up to the far corner of the seventh floor.

"This is the West tower. The staircase to my right leads to the Owlery, and the one on my left leads to the Ravenclaw common room which we will view in just a moment. My office and residence is in the North tower, beside the Astronomy tower, also on this floor."

The Ravenclaw rooms were evaluated, the clipboards and quills were returned full of scribbles and notes, and the crowd dispersed to head down to the Great Hall for lunch. I carried the armload of clipboards to my office and let them cascade sloppily all over my desk to be reviewed later. I dragged myself up to my bedroom and fell into a crumpled heap on my bed. I would skip lunch.

I woke up five hours later feeling heavy and groggy, but more human than I had felt all day, and ambled down the spiral staircase again to start reading over the evaluation notes. However, when I got downstairs and saw my desk, it was certainly not the way I had left it. The messy pile of clipboards were neatly stacked in two piles, with an application for a restoration team already filled out and ready for owling to the Minister. I looked around for the black high heel pumps that I knew I had kicked off somewhere on my way to the bedroom, and found them set nicely at the foot of the stairwell. Had Pinkey been cleaning while I was sleeping again? But then how does that explain all of the notes being taken care of?

"Sleep well?"

_Crap._

Draco Malfoy was laying on my lounge, reading _The Daily Prophet_ and eating an apple.

"What are you doing here?"

"Reading."

"I know, but besides that."

"Eating." He held out the half eaten apple.

"Please don't mock me right now." My head was throbbing, my eyes were sore from wearing my reading glasses all day when I didn't need to, and I felt like I was being weighted down with solid iron.

"I just though I would be neighborly and help you out." He swung his legs over the edge of the lounge so he was sitting up.

"Neighborly? Your apartments are in the dungeons. This is the seventh floor, or were you not paying attention at all during the tour? Although, you shouldn't have needed it, seeing as I know you were in the Headmaster's office plenty of times during our school days."

"If you aren't going to be appreciative, I can just rip up that form and let you review all the notes yourself, if that's what you want. Or, you can just say 'thank you' and go get ready for dinner that is in an hour. Everyone was worried when you didn't show up for lunch, so I highly recommend attending at least on meal tonight."

"I have had to say 'thank you' entirely too many times today. Why are you helping the 'mudblood'?" He gave me a lopsided grin.

"Maybe it's because I enjoy working beneath her."

"Your dirty jokes are getting old, Draco."

"That's impossible. They never stop being funny, it must be the crowd."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, must be." He still hadn't answered my question though. "Why are you in my office, doing my work, and sitting on my lounge?" he shrugged.

_Great, I'm never going to get him away from me._

"I just wanted to tell you something." He said.

"And that being...?"

"Even though it all went down the toilet, I admire you for being able to go into the Gryffindor common room again. I know it was hard."

"... wha-"

_Did he just...?_

"If it had been me, I probably wouldn't have even taken the job at all."

_Merlin's toes, he did!_

"Actually I didn't exactly take the job, they fired me from my old one after the offer was made and I had to-"

"Well you know what I mean."

"Umm... yeah." I shuffled uncomfortably while he gnawed at the remaining apple core. Then I remembered something from earlier.

"Y- you know when you said before, that it wasn't easy for you to be here either?" I stumbled over my words a little bit, not used to speaking to him in a non-spiteful way. He nodded, so I continued. "What did you mean by that?"

His eyes drifted past me to the portraits of the past Headmasters that hung on the wall. He pointed to Dumbledore's picture.

"That old bat gave me so much grief, but when it came down to it, I just couldn't... I couldn't do it. It would have been like killing you," my eyebrows shot up at the mention of me. "Yeah, don't think they didn't try to get have me get you, they did, but they quickly forgot about you when Dumbledore came into his plan. Anyways, I couldn't do it, because it would have been like killing you; I would have been taking the one person that everyone looked to for advice and wisdom and love. If you take down the mother duck, all of the ducklings go down with her."

"But I wasn't mother duck, Harry-" He cut me off with a curt shake of his head in disagreement.

"Potter was just one who had to kill him in the end, you were the brains of the trio. You knew what had to be done, how to do it, and how to do it well. Those two boys looked to you for everything. Trust me, they didn't want to leave you, but they died so that nothing bad would happen to you. I'm telling you, 'mother duck'."

People really don't give this man enough credit for his intelligence, but honestly, I have never been able to understand where he pulls all of this information from.

"Draco, how can you actually say that their death had anything to do with me? There were deatheaters everywhere, people falling dead left and right. You remember what it was like, you were there! It was all so chaotic, Harry just ran off to find Voldemort and put an end to everything, and Ron went with him to cover his back while they ran through a maze of people… they didn't have time to think of me." It was hard talking about that night. In fact, this was the first time that I had not changed the subject and walked away. The memories were yanking unapologetically on my heartstrings.

"Of course they did, _you_ were the reason they took off as fast as they did. Hermione, there is no doubt that you are a powerful and intelligent witch, but you wouldn't have stood a chance against Voldemort or my father. Potter and Weasley knew that, and they knew they had to get to them first before they could get to you."

I gave a mock laugh.

"Oh great, they died because of me." Draco shook his head.

"No, they died to save you, and the rest of us."

"So just where were you throughout all of this?"

"Hiding in the bushes watching and praying to Merlin that no one would find me."

I laughed again, but stopped when I saw the look on his face.

"You're serious?"

"Yes. Unfortunately."

_Well that's different from what I thought..._

"So you didn't..."

_So you didn't murder hundreds of people and stand back to laugh manically?_

"I didn't kill anyone. I stunned a few, and made a couple dance uncontrollably, but when I out there on that field, it was like I completely forgot who I was. All I could remember were though stupid spells from first year like the jelly-legs and stupefy, and I knew those weren't enough to defend myself if either side found me, so I just..."

"Hid?" I helped.

"Yeah. I guess that makes me a coward."

_Definitely._

"Yes, but better a coward than a murderer." I pointed out. He shrugged.

"In whose eyes?"

"In Dumbledore's. He never told us not to be afraid. He always said that it was natural to be scared, but not to let it overcome us. He would have wanted a coward on his side, trying his best to do the right thing, not a cold-blooded killer." He looked down at the rug and shrugged again.

"It's too late now, though. Everything is over and done with, right?" He asked, looking up at me through his hair.

_Why does he have to look so good when he does that?_

"Um, yes... it is." I looked away from him and cleared my throat. "So I'll just go get ready for dinner now."

_Smooth subject change, Hermione._

I thought sarcastically. He wasn't moving from the lounge.

"I'll see you in the Great Hall then." I tried again. I didn't exactly want him to be downstairs while I was in the shower or changing. What if he came in while I was in the middle of dressing and caught a glimpse of something? I would never be able to look at him in a solely professional manner ever again knowing that he had seen my...

_I am giving this way too much thought._

He seemed to finally be getting the idea that it was time for him to leave. He stood up and took a step towards me, looking rather unsure if he should shake my hand, hug me, or just leave.

"Did you want me to come around in about an hour to walk you down to dinner?" He asked.

"No." I said quickly. A little bit _too_ quickly. "I mean, you're all the way down in the dungeons, I don't want you to have to come all the way back up here."

_He's being so nice! I don't get it, where's the catch?_

"It's no problem. You've had a rough day, I thought you might want some company."

"Sure. I suppose."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."

"Yep." I watched him leave, and as soon as my office door shut with a soft click I turned and started running up the spiral stair case. Somewhere on about the seventh step my foot caught, and I tripped, falling head first into the metal stairs.

"**!#&$ &$!**"

_Well thank the gods I wasn't named Grace._

In my bathroom I examined my face. There was a tiny cut on my chin, and the area around it was swollen pink and tender. It hurt, and there would most likely be a bruise by tomorrow, but it was nothing to cry about. I jumped in the shower, the hot water stinging slightly, but in a good, clean way.

For a while I just stood there, letting the water beat down on my skin and watching the steam swirl around me in misty question marks. It felt nice being engulfed in wet warmth as I washed away the haziness left over from my nap earlier. Stepping out and drying off, I changed into fresh robes. Black ones, of course. My hair stayed down in soft curls because putting it up felt like more trouble than it was worth just to go down for dinner, and my makeup routine has always been light, so I was slipping my feet into my heels and was taking a seat on the lounge not even twenty minutes after Draco had left. It was good being early though, because it gave me time to think. Or, to be perfectly honest, it gave me more time to convince myself that I wasn't living in some paradox universe where Draco Malfoy was friendly and I was a sad sap.

_He has been acting awfully chummy since he got here. He said he had seen the errors of his ways and was straightened out, but who can be so sure? Alright, so he didn't exactly say that in so many words, but he basically did, sort of. We aren't mates though. Just because he saw me cry and helped me with some paperwork does not mean we are mates. And we are certainly not going to be anything more than mates, not that we are that. Because we aren't. And we won't be, because we can't. It wouldn't be... what's that word I'm looking for?_

I paused for a moment mid-ponder. The only think audible was the ticking of the old Grandfather clock in the corner, and the soft swish of the heavy golden pendulum. There was a knock on my office door and my body convulsed in fear as I leapt to my feet. My pulse spiked so high in nerves that the vein in my left hand twitched painfully. It only did that once, but I didn't have any desire for it to happen again. I did my best to calm down.

_It's only Draco, Hermione. You were expecting him, this shouldn't be a surprise._

Opening the door, I poked my head around and found myself face to face with him. I was almost his height in these heels, shy only an inch or so. It gave me a good view of his eyes. They were not a cold grey color as I had always thought in school, but a silvery blue. He gazed back at me curiously.

"Hermione?"

I imagine I looked quite foolish then, with only my head out the door and ogling him as if he were a crazed zoo animal, but either he didn't notice, or pretended not to.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded.

"Well, should we go then?"

I nodded again. For some reason, I wasn't moving. At first, as I was standing with a solid oak door in front of me trying to put a single thought together, if felt rather childish. However, as soon as I stepped out from behind my concealment an overwhelming wash of guilt flooded me. I didn't just feel guilty, I **was** guilty. Here was Draco Malfoy, trying to be civil despite the massive amount of bad blood between us on the part of both, and what was I doing? I was being selfish. I was a selfish, self-centered, self-pitying slag. Alright, I wasn't actually a slag, but it just sounded like an appropriate ending.

I cry over Harry and Ron almost everyday, and yet I have not done a single thing to make them proud. If they could see him now, they would probably want to try and heal the wound. Well, they would bloody him up pretty badly, but then they would heal the wounds.

_I should put in a little more effort. It feels like there is much more to him than he is willing to reveal to me right away, and if he's not going to treat me like pond scum, it might be worth prying him open a bit._

Even in school, Draco Malfoy clearly presented himself as a very dynamic character. He may have loved scaring everyone by letting them believe that he was following in his retched father's footsteps, but there was not a single time when I would pass him in class or communal meals that he didn't look utterly perplexed. This boy has something on his mind twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, and in this last day I have had the creeping suspicion that **I** was the thing on his mind this time. I knew that one thing had changed since school; he had grown a heart. It was almost laughable to think that 'Malfoy' and 'heart' can be run together in the same sentence, but if for no other reason, I know he is feeling because he accepted this job, where the only instant gratification is the look on the student's face when the lesson finally clicks.

At dinner, there was a comforting hum of multiple conversations going on at the same time. I myself was quiet, but everyone else seemed delightfully engaged in friendly chatter. By the looks of it, everyone had attached themselves to someone and could now call them a friend, and for a moment I had hope that for the first time in decades, Hogwarts would have inter-house unity.


	5. Chapter 5

"So Miss Granger,"

"Please, call me Hermione."

"Hermione, you are twenty one, correct?"

"Actually, I'm twenty."

I took a sip of ice water from my glass, and then set it carefully back down in front of me. A few of the side conversations died off as everyone tuned in to listen to Mr. Eughlar question me. Personally, I thought that last question was a bit of a cheap shot, since he knew perfectly well how old I was, he just wanted to announce it in front of my entire staff. I felt my spine stiffen from the tension in the room. The first dinner had been a lighthearted and entertaining event until Edward Eughlar decided to prod his shiny nose into my personal life. For the last fifteen minutes he had been asking me insignificant questions about my family, where I grew up, what my favorite book was, and if I thought the construction on the castle would take long, but now he was purposefully beginning to ask more controversial questions that the wizarding newspapers had been pressing about for weeks.

"Ah yes, you are quite the spring chicken, aren't you? Well, no matter if you can get the job done. And you do have a bit of teaching experience from running that tutoring program back in your Hogwarts days, don't you?"

"Well it wasn't really a program more as just a one time thing. It was only one student, and he just needed a little boost in Transfiguration."

"Oh," Professor Eughlar tutted, shaking his head slightly. "Now that's a shame. Do you have any idea how to control a class Miss Granger?"

"It's Hermione, and yes, I do. I helped my dear friend Harry Potter organize and train a few select classmates for Dumbledore's Army, or the D.A. as we called it. I can hold the attention of the class just fine."

He scoffed perversely.

"Oh it is not a lack of attention that I am talking about." His eyes wandered to places where my eyes certainly were NOT located, and my grip on my cloth napkin tightened.

"You will pardon me for asking you to refrain from looking at me in such a manner Mr. Eughlar."

"And here I thought you were insisting upon first names, and yet you addressed me with my surname. You are quite the indecisive one Miss Granger."

"I beg you Sir, do not try my patience. And indecisiveness is a quality that I in fact _lack_."

"Such lovely etiquette for such a young lady! I'm surprised your parents taught you manners at all, they were muggles were they not?"

_That is it!_

I stood up abruptly, my chair screeching shrilly as it was propelled backwards. Out of my peripheral vision I saw Draco stand too, but I kept my attention on Mr. Eughlar. If only looks could kill, this man would be down in the dungeons of hell.

"The blood of my parents is not your concern, and I highly recommend restraining yourself from voicing whatever opinions you have of my age and ancestry before you find yourself without employment." I said in a deathly frigid voice. Somewhere down the length of the table, a fork was dropped and landing noisily on the golden plate in front of it, breaking the uncomfortably stiff silence that blanketed the Great Hall. I looked down at the table in front of me and deposited the crinkled napkin that I had been wringing on top of my forgotten plate of food. Glancing shyly at the shocked staff, I quietly bid them good night.

"If you would please excuse me, I think I am going to retire to my own chambers now. I wish you all a pleasant night's sleep." I left the hall as quickly and as silently as I could, and I could hear the stunned murmurs and whispers picking up again as I shut the door behind me. I leaned against one of the double doors, one hand fingering my golden locket from my father, and the other hand covering my mouth. I stood there and let the initial shock of the spectacle I had just made pass.

The door I wasn't propped against opened with a soft click, and Draco squeezed through, looking down the corridors on the left and right, supposedly, for me. I coughed gently to let him know I was next to him. He turned and looked at me, not saying anything, but communicating with me wordlessly. I chucked.

"I know, he's a total arse." I said, voicing what we had both been thinking.

"Are you still angry?"

"You're bloody well right I am. It something that I would have expected from you," I tossed him a quick glace. "No offence."

"None taken. I know what you mean."

There was silence for a while as we both just stood there, before Draco took hold of my upper arm and gave it a little tug.

"Come on, I'll walk you up."

"Okay, but first we need to make a pit stop."

"After you," He waited for me to lead the way. I made my way down to the kitchens with Draco following on my heels. Opening up the portrait, we stepped inside where the house elves were busy cleaning up after the dinner they had just prepared. Pinkey spotted us at the doorway and immediately rushed to greet us.

"What can Pinkey do for Miss Hermione and friend?"

"Pinkey, could I please have two boxes of our best Godiva Chocolates?"

"Yes Miss, right away Miss."

"Two boxes? Didn't you just eat dinner?" Draco asked in my ear. His warm breath sent an unusual shiver down my spine and made goose bumps rise on my arms, but I did my best to ignore it.

"Oh hell, make it three boxes Pinkey." I called after her. I watched her scurry up a tall ladder to reach a cabinet at the very top. When she unlocked it, I could see pounds and pounds of assorted boxes of chocolates. Taking down three from the top of the pile, she closed the cabinet and with careful precision not to drop a single one, she hurried back down the ladder and presented me with my beloved chocolates.

_Nothing comes between a girl and her chocolate, especially in moments like these._

"Is there anything Pinkey can get for Miss's friend?" She asked Draco.

"How about a large bottle of some good red wine?"

Before either one of us could blink, another elf was there presenting it to Draco with a short bow, waiting for his appraisal.

"Perfect, thank you."

I couldn't help but wonder what Draco's intention for that wine was, and if he was planning on snarfing it all in one sitting just as I had planned to do with these chocolates. We walked together up to my office, and he held my sweets as I unlocked the door, but I promptly took them back as soon as we got through. I was kicking off my shoes and didn't notice that Draco was now hunting through my apartments searching for wine glasses. I turned around, enjoying the feeling of the plush carpet between my toes and nearly spun myself into Draco, who happened to be holding a glass of delicious looking red wine in front of my face.

_Ooooooo for me?_

I looked at him questioningly.

"Well go on, I'm not going to have to drink the whole bottle myself am I?" He pushed it towards me again, and I accepted it.

"What's the special occasion? Or do you normally rummage through people's flats and then force them to have a drink with you?"

He smirked as he made himself at home on my lounge once again.

"I wouldn't say that I was forcing you by any means." He said with an air of amusement in his voice. I stopped drinking my wine, mid gulp.

_It's not like I always suck down the Merlot, but after that lovely encounter with Mr. I'm-Bitter-And-Rude-Because-A-Twenty-Year-Old-Woman-Beat-Me-Out-Of-The-Headmaster-Position I could definitely use a drink or two._

"And there is no real occasion, I just thought it would be a good way to unwind after this very eventful day." He finished.

"Cheers to that." I walked over to where he was sitting and clinked my glass against his. Sitting down in the easy chair next to him, I balanced the box of chocolates on my lap and eagerly pulled off the lid. I chose the first one at random, and bit in to it.

"Mmmmm…"

I savored the rich, silky chocolate as it melted and swirled in my mouth.

"Good?" Draco asked.

"Heaven." I squeaked out, polishing off the other half. I saw Draco extend a hand towards my chocolates, but I slapped it away.

"Mine." I growled possessively.

"Hermione, you have three bloody boxes, let me just have one."

I shook my head stubbornly. These were my precious delectables and I was going to stuff myself with every last one of them while I bless my father for passing down his fast metabolism to me.

"One?"

"No."

"A small one?"

"NO."

"A half of one?"

I put on a pensive face and cocked my head to the side.

"Mmmm… no."

"Please?"

I picked up a soft caramel filled sweet and slowly put it in my mouth, pouting my lips out in a triumphant, satisfied smirk as I chewed.

"You should know better than to mess with a man that has an unquenchable sweet tooth."

As my eyes were closed, enjoying the sticky sweetness in my mouth, he grabbed a box from off of my lap and was running up the spiral staircase with it. When I opened my eyes again, I just caught the tail of his robes disappearing onto the second story.

"Hey!" I yelled, leaping from the chair and grabbing my wine glass. "Come back here you thief!"

I followed his footsteps up the stairs, and found him standing in the center of my spacious bedroom, giving it a good look. I blushed furiously when I saw one of my bras hanging from the lavatory door knob. I had forgotten to remove it after I finished changing for dinner. I snatched it and quickly shoved it into my desk drawer while his back was turned, hoping Draco hadn't seen it. After that, I did a speedy scan of the room to make sure there were no more potentially embarrassing items lying around, but that seemed to be the only one.

While Draco was distracted by the view from my balcony, I pulled the box of chocolates from his slack grasp and hugged them victoriously. Realizing what I had done, he turned back to me and sighed.

"Fine Hermione, if you want to get lazy and fat, be my guest. I guess I will just have to wait around since it is only a matter of time before you gorge yourself so much that you can no longer run the school, and I will have to graciously step in and take over."

"Oh please, I would never loose my job because of my weight, which is perfectly fine thank-you-very-much. And besides, chocolate is one of the few pleasures I have left, so just stuff it and let me enjoy them you nag."

"Touchy, touchy… you need more alcohol." Charming my glass to keep refilling itself, he spread himself out on my bed. Fortunately, he wasn't on my side, otherwise I would have had to beat him into submission.

"You know Draco," I said lightly. "I've never been much of a drinker." He laughed at me.

"Oh yes, I am very convinced of that."

"I'm not!" I defended. Honestly, I wasn't, but there was something so yummy about this wine that had me drinking it like it was pumpkin juice. "Seriously, I'm not."

"Okay."

"You don't believe me." I replied flatly.

"No, not really."

"Hey, this is the first time I've had a drink of anything since graduation. Harry, Ron, and I all did a shot of fire whiskey before the ceremony. But only one. For them it was celebratory, but for me it was more to calm my nerves. I was supposed to make a speech that day, you know."

"Yes, I remember."

"Hey Malfoy,"

"What Granger?" He played along.

"How good are you at wizard's chess?"

"Not bad. Why?"

"Because I'm bored, and you still want some of these scrumptious chocolaty treats that I'm holding, judging by the way you're looking over here."

I saw him raise his eyebrows, but it would have been handy to have telepathy because then I could have figured out that it wasn't the chocolate he was staring fondly at.

"Anyways," I continued. "I have just had a stroke of genius and we are going to combine the two."

"We are?"

"Yes. The coconut creams will be the pawns, the caramel chews will be the bishops, and the vanilla nougat will be the horsey thingies-"

"You mean the knights?"

"Yeah, those. And the chocolate covered maraschinos will be the castles-"

"You mean the rooks?"

"Whatever… and the dark chocolate truffles will be the queens, and the kings will be…"

I dug excitedly through the boxes of chocolate to find another piece that I hadn't bitten into already or that was being used for another position.

"English toffee! The kings will be English toffee. And whenever you take the other players piece, you get to eat it! Get ready Malfoy, I'm going to smoke you."

We sat cross legged on my bed, the wine finally working its way through our bodies, creating a buzzed, euphoric atmosphere. It had been a long time since I had been this lighthearted and jubilant, why hadn't anyone thought to get me pissed drunk sooner?

Four hours later, my mind was engulfed in an alcoholic fog, and even though I could feel my mouth moving, I could scarcely hear the words that were bubbling out from between my lips. My only clue was that Draco was lying on his back next to me, laughing like I had made the biggest joke in the world. The chocolates and chess board lay forgotten at the foot of the bed in a jumbled heap.

"And then he said 'No son of mine loses to Harry Potter' and I was just thinking, 'well mum must have had a steamy affair with some other demonic blond then, cause he just whipped me.'" Draco said, starting another story of his own, completely forgetting the beginning of it.

I giggled. Not because his 'father and son' stories were particularly funny, but because if I hadn't been completely plastered already, I would have been getting drunk from the sound of his voice. I loved it. It was deep and smooth like silk, and had an aloof sexiness to it even when he wasn't trying to flirt.

_Must be from his upbringing._

"Soo, Draaco," I slurred. "Isnit true yourea ninbred?"

"Pffftt- yes. And my parents were trying to set me up with my first cousin."

I gasped loudly as I sat up, slapping him on the shoulder and staring down at him, appalled.

"Yournot as drunked as meee! You cheatedd!" I whined. "Youu juss wanta to take avanage o'me, don you Malfoy?"

He rolled his eyes. "I just know how to hold my liquor, unlike **some** people."

He grabbed a handful of my robes and pulled me back down, then rolled over so I was pinned beneath him. I squealed on the way down.

"If I wanted to take advantage of you Granger, I would have given you fire whiskey, not red wine." He bent down and gave my neck a small nuzzle, his lips barely grazing my sensitive skin. "Besides, I don't think you would need to be pissed in order for me to take you."

I shoved him off of me the best I could, my head was starting to throb painfully. I turned on to my side, curled up with an obscenely large pillow, and moaned softly. Shortly after, I fell asleep and dreamt of chasing after a white ferret.


	6. Chapter 6

When I woke up the following morning, I had had the worst hangover I had ever experienced in my entire life. It was nearly enough to put me off alcohol for the rest of my natural existence. _Nearly_, mind you. Draco had slept on the lounge in my office, and respectfully tiptoed out in the early morning without disturbing me. While a large part of me was breathless with relief that I woke up alone, fully clothed, and in my own bed, a very small portion of me wanted someone to be there with me while I struggled to recount the previous night's events. However, I could only play the cards I had been dealt, and I had found no logical reason to get all bent out of shape about something of such pettiness.

The weeks dragged on, and each day felt like it was getting shorter and shorter, taking more and more time away from the things that needed to be done. Everyday I healed a tiny bit more, I accepted things a little more easily, and I smiled a bit more frequently. I wasn't better, but I was getting there, slowly, carefully. Every Saturday night Draco would come to my office with a box of chocolates and a bottle of red wine, and we would sit and moan about the week past, or sometimes we would say nothing at all and simply enjoy the fact that we had survived one more day. However, we never got drunk like we had been that first night, because we both knew that once school started, both of our arses would be fried if we were caught intoxicated by a student. And besides, I had no desire to relive that morning after, it sure was a killer.

By late April, the school grounds were beginning to show signs of life that it hadn't seen in quite some time. Rainstorms blew over and left flowers sprouting in their wake. Snow began to melt, and birds built their new homes in the trees. The giant squid woke from his frigid winter slumber and was sloshing around in the lake, breaking the thin layer of ice that was left on the water's surface, and on the first day of May, a rainbow streaked across the clear Scottish skyline. At last, Hogwarts was breathing.

Renovation of the castle was completed by June, and with all the nice weather we had been having, I had every door and window in the castle propped open the let the entire thing air out to ensure that the old, damp, musty smell was gone.

One day near the end of July, it was so sweltering hot that all the professors (myself included) were forced into shedding their thick wizarding robes and adorning instead looser, thinner, muggle clothing. After lunch on that particular day, I went outside by the lake to find Carmondy, Lavender, and Neville splashing around the water's edge like giddy school children. I smiled slightly as I remembered doing that when I actually i was /i a giddy school child. Not far away from them, Draco was lounging under the shade of a tree, the sunlight that broke past the leaves dancing playfully on his face and bare chest. I gulped guiltily as I absorbed the image like a dry sponge exposed to water. Before I knew it, I was standing directly above him, gazing down. Feeling my presence, he opened his eyes and squinted up at me.

"She wears color." He said, eyeing me up and down before settling back on my face. Glancing down at my powder blue blouse and my cream skirt I tugged nervously at the hems before responding.

"Err, yes."

"I was wondering what it would take you to get out of all that black. I suppose summer finally coaxed you out, eh?"

"It's hot today." I answered lamely.

"Yes, that it is." He stretched his arms behind his head with a satisfying "Ahhhh..."

His chest was so…

_Smoooooth…_

I wanted to touch it, but I didn't dare. I couldn't even imagine what kind of mixed message it would send him, and besides, any of the other professors could have seen my actions and before I would have been able to say "But-" there would be an article in _The Daily Prophet_ about some kind of "affair".

It occurred to me a moment later that as I was still standing over him, with him lying comfortably on the grass at my feet, that I was wearing a skirt, and should his eyes wander a couple inches to the right, he would be able to tell exactly what color my knickers were. I sat down promptly and crossed my ankles, leaning back on my hands.

"So Headmistress, have you heard back from the students yet?" Draco said, trying to strike up conversation again.

"Yes, a few parents of returning students were a bit skeptical about sending them back, but the first years were quite receptive."

"I wonder what this place is going to look like filled with kids, when I'm not going to be one of them."

I laughed.

"Oh Draco, don't worry, you will always be a child." He shoved me lightly in the arm, knocking me on my side. I flopped on to my back, but stayed down. I felt a buzz of happiness when I was around him, and not just on the nights we drank wine together. It surprised me that the boy who used to walk around like he had a long spoon shoved his arse was the same one who was teaching me how to relax.

I closed my eyes and let the sunlight play on my eyelids gently. When I opened them again, the sun was almost set, leaving a hazy darkness to mingle with the muggy air. Sitting up abruptly, I looked around to see if anyone else was still out. I thought I was alone, until I heard a slash coming from the lake. Standing up, I went to investigate.

In the remaining light I could see a spot of blond bobbing around in the water.

"Draco? What are you doing? What time is it?"

"I'm swimming, what does it look like I'm doing? I think it's about six or so, everybody went in for dinner a little while ago."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Because you looked happy." He answered.

"I was." I said more to myself than to him. Through the haze I could tell that he was smiling.

"Come on in, the waters' fine." He called to me. I shook my head vigorously.

"No way."

"Yes way. Have a little fun, would you? When the students get here it will be nothing but _work_."

"I like work. Besides, I don't have a swim suit."

"Neither do I." He said slyly. I was grateful that he couldn't see the blush creep up on my cheeks from where he was floating in the lake. "You're wearing knickers I presume?"

"Of course I am! What kind of girl do you take me for?"

"Then take off the bloody clothes and jump in! I'll even turn around if you want."

I scrunched up my face. "I don't think so."

"Hermione," he pleaded. "Everyone is at dinner; no one is going to see you."

I felt myself squirming.

"Maybe just a quick dip…" I caved in. "But you have to turn all the way around Malfoy or else I will fire you."

"You have my word. No peeking."

"You're word still means very little to me." I retorted as I fluidly slipped my skirt down my hips. I stepped out of it and folded it carefully and set in on the grass where it wouldn't get wet. I slowly unbuttoned my blouse, pausing for a moment at the last one to wonder if this was really such a good idea. Tossing the idea aside, I undid the final button and shrugged it off my shoulders, placing it beside by skirt and shoes.

"Are you in yet?"

I glided into the lake as silently as I could and floated over to Draco. He must have felt the ripples in the water because he turned around.

"Now I am." I treaded water a few feet away. My feet could have touched the bottom if I had stood on my tippy-toes, but it was just easier to keep my lower half moving. He looked at me for a minute before saying anything. I imagined that I resembled a lagoon creature in that moment, with the ends of my hair dripping, cheeks flushed red and dewy, and my mascara threatening to run any second.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Well actually, it was rather taxing having to wade through all that sticky lake mud to get out here…" I trailed on, feigning contemplation. He grinned.

"Oh yeah? How's this for being 'taxing'?" Before I could react, he had placed both hands on my head and dunked my under, fully submerging me into the murky depths of the lake. My arms flailed in panic and sought out something to hold on to so I could pull myself back up. My hands found his shoulders, and once he took his hands off of my now waterlogged head I was able to wrap my arms around his neck, clinging to him and cursing at him at the same time.

"Oh you little p-prat!" I sputtered, coughing up a little bit of lake water. He laughed at me. **Laughed** at my choking gasps for air. I wanted to fire the immature ponce, but thinking back I'm glad I didn't, since that would have been a tad extreme.

The air around us had cooled off, and looking around I saw steam rising off the surface of the water, giving the lake an even more magical ambiance. Had I not been a witch, and had there not been a giant squid, assorted mermaids, and flesh hungry aquatic animals swimming beneath me, I think I would have started to believe in magic at that moment. I turned my gaze back to Draco then, who still had a hold on me from when I clung to him in desperation.

He was looking at me very… intently.

And I was looking back.

"Hermione," he said. "I'm going to kiss you now."

It wasn't a question, or a demand, just a statement. And maybe it was because he was soaking wet, maybe it was because he made me forget, or maybe it was because I liked the invincibility I felt when he touched me, or maybe because I just plain wanted to, but regardless of the reason,

I let him.

His wet lips meshed with mine in a slippery kiss. I couldn't say that I fully enjoyed having water interfere with the traction of my lips on his, his on mine, however there was something strangely erotic about it, something that made that kiss sexier than all the others. Much later I realized what it was that was making it so alluring. It was him. But in that moment, as our skin began to prune from being in water too long, and as our lips got acquainted with each other, I felt like I was soaring. I felt beautiful. I felt indestructible. I felt like I never wanted this to end. I felt like the old Hermione Granger.

And nothing in the world felt better than going home to a place that you had been trying to reach for years. Going home to **yourself**.

Of course, along with getting my old wits about me came with the stark realization that I was snogging Draco Malfoy, my employee, in a lake, with no clothes on but my now translucent knickers. I pulled away and started back towards land hurriedly. I yanked up my skirt (which was quite difficult mind you, things don't slide on so well when you are drenched) and buttoned my blouse up as I forced my feet into my shoes. I turned around at the sound of Draco getting out of the water. He scrambled into his clothes as well, and daringly placed a hand on my waist, presumably to get me to look at him and say something.

"Look, if I was out of line back there then-"

"No." I cut him off. "I was. You are my colleague, and as Headmistress it is my duty to have complete control over my actions, which I didn't, and I apologize."

"Was it a mistake? Because it didn't feel like one."

"No, not a mistake, just a… fluke." I was unable to meet his gaze. Not in shame or regret, but out of sheer embarrassment.

"A fluke?" He asked, his eyebrows raised.

"I should really be getting inside now, and you should probably come in too." I started walking back to the castle, with Draco right by my side, not saying a word. We reached the entry hall and had to part ways.

"I'll walk you up." He offered. I shook my head.

"Thank you, but that's not necessary. It's out of your way."

"It's no problem. I want to." I responded with a small shrug of my shoulders, and we walked together in weighted silence. When we reached my door, he moved to touch my arm, but I instinctively recoiled.

"Hermione-"

"You know just as well as I do why it is that this can't happen. You know why I have a hard time trusting you, and you have to know that it would only end horribly." As hard as it was, I forced myself to look him in the eyes as I spoke. "We aren't made for each other, and we hardly have a common ground between us. It's all very black and white."

"Don't you mean green and red?" He asked coldly. His sudden change of demeanor caught me off guard and frightened me slightly.

"What?"

"Slytherin and Gryffindor, it all comes back to that, doesn't it? You don't want to picture yourself with someone like me because you're afraid of what other people might think. This isn't about our jobs, or the fact that I'm supposed to be working for you, its about the fact that no matter how much either one of us has changed, you are still holding on to that damn Gryffindor pride that makes you think you deserve better that a Slytherin. I thought I saw something in you tonight in that lake that you didn't have before, but it must have been the poor lighting, because I can see that I was very wrong."

"Oh yeah? And what was that that you 'saw' in me?" I had placed my hands angrily on my hips, offended by his accusations.

"I thought I saw _life_, but clearly, you are still just a bloody vegetable. Do yourself and everyone else a favor, Hermione, and get over yourself. Everyone is sick of your pity parties, and your excuses for why you can't get involved, or why you can't just look around and be grateful for what you still have left. I tried to help you Hermione, I tried to show you that you weren't alone here, but the second I got a chance to get close to you, you run away and try and use the fact we work together as an excuse to brush me off like a bothersome piece of lint."

"Are you done?" I asked impassively, wanting to disappear into the wall and never come out. He drew a deep breath.

"Yes, I believe I am."

"Good, since you are finished, you can go screw yourself now Mr. Malfoy." I turned sharply on my heel, wrenched open the door and walked through, slamming it abrasively behind me.

"Bugger." I huffed irritably as I crossed my arms across my chest and sunk deep into the sofa. "Bugger bugger bugger."


	7. Chapter 7

During my stay at Hogwarts, I was well known for engulfing myself in school work. There was probably none more studious than I, but like all children, the time eventually came for me to grow into my teenage form, and it did not exactly go unnoticed. I was no veela of course, but I had a few offers from boys wishing to court me around. Yet how could I possibly go gallivanting around with some bloke when I had to finish the entire volume of Advanced Arithmancy by the following week? It was so unreasonable it made me shudder. Ginny would constantly chastise me for it, claiming,

"Hermione, if you don't go out and date, how will you ever meet your future husband? Bloody hell, all you do is sit around and… and… **READ**! Don't you want to find love?"

But I wasn't listening, because honestly, who finds true love at fourteen anyways? I didn't, that's for sure.

When I turned sixteen, after rejecting all forms of celebration that my parents were offering for a night with a good book, my mother warned me that if I constantly did nothing but read, I would fall into the land of fiction and never come back out. I would never have any friends, I would never have a boyfriend, and I would always be hiding behind a world of fake smiles and fairy tale endings. I believe her exact words to me were,

"Hermione, if you don't stop turning away good people for some paper with ink on it, you are going to fall into a rabbit hole and come out a spinster cat lady."

I hadn't listened to her then, I was too busy reading.

When I was eighteen, my father warned me that it may be a good idea to try and make some new friends, some people I could spend my weekend evenings being social with and learning from. He had said,

"Hermione, I'm worried about you. Why don't you go out to some of those fun-looking clubs that kids your age seem to be so fond of? I know that you have read that book seven times already."

It was _Hogwarts: A History_, and I had read it eight times. I hadn't listened to him then, I was half asleep from staying up reading.

Not long after my twentieth birthday, I was working late at the ministry. I had gotten carried away in a book I was reading over my lunch break, and as a result set me back a good forty five minutes in my work. I had thought I was the only one left in the office, but just as I was packing to leave, my boss came plodding down the corridor and halted at my desk. He took one look at me and said,

"Granger, if you don't stop that incessant reading while you're on my clock, I will burn the next book I see coming within a foot of your nose. Got it? And by the way, tomorrow is the staff picnic, so be sure to bring a friend along to introduce to the Minister. He likes to see his employees capable of keeping good company."

I slept with my windows open that night, and called in sick the next morning with a head cold. I found it rather boring sitting at home with no work to do, but I found comfort in a thick edition of Shakespeare.

Now, I had once more been accused of hiding in a nonexistent realm of some other book. I had never listened to anyone before, so why had I listened to him as he rambled on and on about my "problems" and only trying to "help"? And then not to even mention the fact he thought I was snubbing him because of his house, how ridiculous! I simply to do not have time to get romantically involved with someone like him, or anyone for that matter. First of all, I'm not ready. Second of all, it is against all of the rules I swore to obey when I was dubbed Headmistress. And third of all, I hardly know the bloke except for the fact that he looks positively fetching in black. It contrasts so nicely with his fair skin and handsome featu-

_This is precisely why I mustn't get involved, he occupies too much of my mind and renders me incompetent for work._

It took every ounce of my restraint not to reach for a Jane Austen novel from my shelf, but I managed to reach my fireplace and call for Ginny. When I flooed, Molly answered to my flame engulfed profile, and promised to send Ginny over as soon as she got out of the bath.

"Is everything all right dear? You seem a bit distressed." Molly remarked.

"Oh no-no, everything is quite spiffing here, I just fancied some girl talk, you know."

"Yes, I understand perfectly. I remembered what it was like to be twenty. Well Ginerva should be over in a moment or two. It was lovely talking to you Hermione. You must stop by for some tea sometime."

"I promise I will, Molly. Goodbye."

When I withdrew my head from the flaming ash, I choked a tad on smoky cinders. I had just picked out a splinter from my hair when Ginny stumbled out of the fireplace.

"Mione! I'm so glad you called, I've been dying to speak with you but I was afraid to disturb you at work. I was so excited when mum told me you had appeared in the fire, I hopped out of the bath and into some clothes like a rocket!" She grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged her back and we moved to the lounge.

"Merlin you look bloody fantastic! Whatever you're doing new you must let me in on your secret, I'm spitting with jealousy. And I've never seen your hair this light before! A few more shades and you will be dangerously close to blond, mate. It suits you though, as long as you never go as blond as that Malfoy ferret-"

"Ginny-"

"Oh my goodness, you are never going to believe what I heard yesterday! So the girl from accounting comes in Monday morning with a completely scandalous hang over and love bites all over her neck that are horribly covered up with makeup that did not match her skin tone at ALL and she goes to get some tea, and immediately the whole office is dying to know who she has been shagging. So Martha the new intern eavesdrops on her conversation with the boss at the water cooler, and it turns out that it was him! The boss was the one she was knocking boots with! And _in the office_ none the less! I knew it too, I knew there was a strange sound coming from the supply closet."

"Ginny-"

"Can you believe that? It is absolutely naughty!" Ginny said giddily. Actually, I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to get a single word in until she was done spilling all of her colleague's dirty secrets. Admittedly, her little gossip reels had shaken me up quite a lot, and I wondered if telling her was going to be such a good idea after all.

"Oh Hermione, I should have taken a muggle job much sooner, the drama is so much juicier than in the magical world."

"But Ginny, how do you get through the day without feeling devastated about all that we lost? How can you not want to cry all the time?"

Her smile fell instantly.

"Mione," she sighed. "We've been over this a million times. I did cry. I cried a lot. We cried together, remember? I loved them, all of them, with all of my heart, but there comes a time when we need to move on. I've moved on Hermione. I will never forget them or stop loving them, but can you imagine all the wallops I would get from my brothers and Harry and my father if I walked around in a teary daze for the rest of my life? I want love, I want a family again, a big one, and I want happiness."

"That's actually kind of why I called you here." She looked at me expectantly as I wrung my hands in my lap. "You see, the Ministry hired all the professors for me, I didn't get to choose." I had struggled to find the right words. "Urg, I don't know how to put this. Just hold on a second." I stood up and went to the shelf where I keep all of my pensives, and took down the most recent one that held my memories from when I first saw Draco on the day of staff arrival up to last night when I slammed the door in his face. I placed it in front of her, and nodded for her to look in.

"Go on Gin, you need to see it to understand." She nodded nervously but complied.

I paced my office anxiously as she sifted through my most recent memories, biting my nails and praying to the Gods above that when she came out she wouldn't attack me with that trademark Weasley temper of hers.

It always surprises me how quickly someone can scan through your memories. I mean, a recorded conversation that took me three hours could be watched by someone through a pensive in about thirty minutes. For an hour I uneasily stormed my office for something to do as Ginny watched the last seven months of my life. I glanced at my clock, and figured that she should have been entering the lake scene right about now. My head snapped around at the sound of a frightened gasp.

"Hermione!" Ginny was looking at me with pure shock and confusion written all over her face. She had been so surprised at the snog that she had wrenched herself out of the pensive before it was finished.

"No Gin, go back in. There's more."

"Hermione I don't want to g-"

"You need to understand, go back." She nodded meekly and plunged her head back in. Five minutes later, all of the memories had been seen, and Ginny was slumped deeply into the lounge pillows, looking exhausted. There was a strange silence between us while she recuperated.

"Well," Ginny began. "That was…" She paused to rest her head in her hands. "Merlin Hermione what do you want me to say? I have never had anything like this happen before, and I don't know what to do, or how to make you feel better, since you are obviously distraught."

I nodded.

"Now you know me, normally I would thrust you at any available bloke that showed interest because I think it would do you some good to be involved with someone for a while, but this… this is Malfoy we are talking about. I know he has grown up, I mean, I did see everything, but still it is all very complicated. Regardless of what you decide, I think you should apologize to him-"

"But Ginny!"

"Don't 'but Ginny' me. I don't care who it is, that was still rude to tell him to go screw himself after he was only trying to talk some sense into you."

"Gin, what do you think-" I was hesitant to bring it up again since it seemed like she didn't want to talk about it, but my biting curiosity won over. "What do you think Harry and Ron would have thought about all of this?" She sighed heavily and massaged her temples fretfully.

"Happy."

"Pardon?"

"They would want you to be happy Hermione. It wouldn't have mattered who you were with as long as you were happy. That is all they ever wanted for you in the first place. Even Ron would have learned to look past the fact it was Malfoy if you were truly and undeniably happy." She stood up from the couch and walked back over to the fireplace.

"Look Mione, I love you, you know that, but all of this talk is depressing me, and I think I should be getting home soon. Besides, I have work in the morning, and if I have to oblivate my boss's memory of me being late one more time then people are going to start getting suspicious. If you want my honest opinion, then I would say go to him, and listen. Don't talk to him, just listen to what he has to say. If he wants you, then give it a try, if not, then don't. And don't let the Headmistress/Professor thing influence your decision. It can easily be hidden."

"And if we get together and things don't work out?"

"Fire him." She said with a wink. I choked and moved to question her statement but she has already climbed into the fireplace and was gone in a whirlwind of green flames before I got a chance.

_Well if I'm going to do this, I better do it right._

I figured that it would most likely be better to talk to him while all of this was still fresh in my mind, and before I lost my nerve. It was just after lunch time, and I imagined that he would either be in his office making lesson plans or in his bedchamber. I went to the office first, but to no avail, as the room was empty and held no signs that he had even been there at all that day. I moved on to his living quarters, and although being Headmistress gave me the right to pass through any portrait hole I pleased, day or night, I knocked out of courtesy. There was the sound of muffled footsteps on the other side, and then the portrait creaked open a tad as Draco peered out at me from around the door. He looked surprised.

"Can I help you?"

"May I come in?" I asked tentatively. His facial expression became very exasperated, and his tone of voice turned disturbingly cynical.

"Sure, as long as you don't mind all the Slytherin paraphernalia. And watch out for the snakes, they like to bite."

_The only snake I'm worried about is you._

"I wanted to talk." I said softly. He laughed mockingly.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm not sure if I have time to talk to you, you see, right now I am a bit busy screwing myself." He retorted sharply. I hung my head.

"I suppose I deserved that." He scoffed again. "Look Draco, if you want me to leave, I'll leave, but I wanted to apologize to you for my behavior the other night. I should have been more open-minded, but for various reasons, I wasn't. Unfortunately it resulted in your feelings getting hurt, and for that I am very sorry." We both remained quiet for a moment while I chose my words carefully and he took them in. "I realize now that you really were trying to help, and to be truthful, I think you have helped me more in these past short months than anyone else has in the last year." His gaze was fixated on something outside of his window, and figuring he needed some space, I turned to leave.

"Hermione,"

I turned.

"I still want to be with you, if you will let me. You have an incredible magnetism that draws me to you. It's all very alluring. You aren't the same girl you were in school."

I shook my head, smiling faintly.

"No, I still am that little girl. It's you that has changed, Draco." He looked at me, waiting patiently for me to continue. "You're not a murderer, you are actually capable of being respectful and charming, you are much more intelligent than most people give you credit for, and although I didn't believe it possible before, you possess a very human quality of wanting to help people. You have most definitely changed."

"So does this mean that you like me?"

I felt myself blush deeply.

"Well, I suppose. I mean, I like you, but I don't know if I _like_ you like you…"

"Hermione, we aren't first formers anymore, you can use grown up words." I scowled up at him.

"Yes, I like you, but I'm not sure if I'm _attracted_ to you." He stood still at the window across the room, watching me smugly.

"I have something to show you." He slowly walked towards me, unbuttoning his shirt seductively as he went. I gulped loudly out of nerves as my face became hot and started to perspire. I took an uneasy step backwards as the shirt was discarded on the floor, and Draco continued to move in my direction. When he reached me, he grabbed one of my limp hands and placed it on his shoulder, then began guiding it smoothly and unhurriedly down his biceps, his elbow, and finally he let it rest on his forearm. His hand still clasped over mine, moving it softly from his wrist to his elbow repeatedly.

"Feel that?" He asked in a breathy whisper. I shook my head no, and he smirked.

"Exactly. It's gone." I moved my eyes from his face down to where my hand had begun subconsciously stroking his arm on its own. I felt nothing, I saw nothing. And then it hit me.

"It's gone." I whispered, purposefully trailing my fingers over where the Dark Mark once laid sickeningly imprinted in his skin.

"Seven months ago, you said that once you could no longer see it, you would believe everything I said. Believe me now when I say that I only want to be with you."

I swallowed hard again, trying to absorb and process what he was saying.

"So, I just have to wonder," I paused to choose my words carefully. "Was it entirely necessary to take off your shirt to show me your forearm?" A smile broke across his face and he suppressed a laugh.

"Yes, I thought it would add to the general effect. But since you're looking a bit flustered, I'll humor you." He picked up the shirt and gracefully slipped it on. He started buttoning the top buttons, and I started at the bottom. Our hands brushed as we reached for the same middle closure.

"I've got it." I said gently, glancing up to meet his eyes for a millisecond. I slipped the small button through the hole and stepped back.

"Thank you."

"It was nothing." It seemed that our voices had dropped unintentionally to a soft murmur, despite the fact we were all alone in his room with the door and windows shut securely. If someone told you I wasn't at least slightly aroused by what had just happened, then somebody was lying. No matter how much I tried to think of the starving muggles in Africa, and the unfair treatment of house elves, I couldn't extinguish the fire that had been ignited deep in my body's core.

"So where does this leave us?" I asked, gazing directly into the piercing blue eyes before me. The already marginal gap between us closed when he advanced on me and had me in his arms pressed tightly against his form, our bodies fitting together like a completed puzzle. His hot breath traveled over my cheeks, causing my heart to jump and beat wildly.

"It leaves us right here." He muttered. I licked my dry lips nervously as his hand traced up my shoulder to the crook of my neck. I allowed myself to be pulled into a steamy, seductive kiss.

His hot tongue blindly explored every inch of my mouth with reckless ambition, and I was only eager to comply. My hands found his waist and tried to bring him closer in shameless urgency. I dumbly began to move backwards, still utterly engulfed in Draco's kiss, until I ran into something solid I could lean against. His hand tangled in my hair, the other sensually stroking my thigh that had somehow managed to wrap its way around his middle, his lips and tongue working miracles on my mouth, and his groin that beginning to move against mine to heighten the sexual tension was all too much for me to handle.

I turned my head to break the kiss, gasping for air. I unwound my leg from his waist and tried to stand steady on my two feet. My head was dizzy with lust, and I couldn't see clearly. I moved to take a step forward only to find that my knees had given out, and Draco had to help me keep my balance. I looked up to see his damp face, tinged pink from all the activity, smirking at me.

"Alright there Granger?" He said, panting slightly.

"No thanks to you, Malfoy." He chuckled lightheartedly and brought me to him again so my head was buried in his neck.

"Have dinner with me tomorrow."

"Okay." I lifted my head back and looked him square in the eye and smiled.

"Okay." He smiled back.


	8. Chapter 8

"Nine years old, my first real broom ride, and I slipped right off the back, fell thirty feet, got a broken arm, dislocated shoulder, and a moderate concussion." Draco took a bite of his potatoes while he waited for me to finish chewing my green beans so I could take my turn. I thought back through all of my childhood mishaps as I wiped my mouth with my napkin.

"Four years old, my mum was making griddlecakes, her back was turned to check the bacon, and I slammed both hands, palms down, on the sizzling griddle. Second degree burns, and nearly a month in bandages."

"Ouch." He gave a small laugh as he raised his glass to me before taking a drink.

Somehow during the course of our meal in Hogsmeade, our conversation had turned to the parts of our childhood we were not so fond of. It seemed easier for him, since as a child my parents rarely let me out of their sight and were always giving me praise.

"Eleven years old, right before I started Hogwarts, father took me to pick out an owl of some sort, and I saw this horrifically ugly bird, and started insulting it, not thinking it could get out of its cage. Well, the cage wasn't locked, and before I knew it he was clamped on my hand, scratching and biting like no tomorrow. Three stitches and a perpetual fear of large, ugly birds."

"Well that shines a bit of light on third year…"

"Yes, it should." There was a slight pause in conversation as we both enjoyed our food, and then I picked up were we had left off.

"Seven years old, standing on the highest diving platform at the swimming pool looking down at the deep end below, when a boy my age comes up behind me and gives me a mighty push, sending me over the edge. I sprained my neck and nearly drowned from all the chlorinated water I sucked in."

"Okay, so now on a happier note, what was your fondest childhood memory?" Draco changed the subject. I cocked my head and squinted my eyes in thought, as if it would help me see into my past more clearly.

"Our first year, when I found myself trapped in the girl's loo with a mountain troll and Harry and Ron came to my rescue. They put their lives on the line for me, and for the first time I knew I had found true friends. For a little girl who was constantly made fun of and had never had any friends before, that was huge. From then on I knew I would always be safe if I was with them, and nothing bad would ever happen to me."

The look on Draco's face was so full of guilt that it looked as if he had just been punched in the gut.

"And now?" He asked.

"Now I'm not a little girl anymore, but I was right all those years ago, because they did always put their lives on the line for me, without a second thought. And I suppose some of their courage rubbed off after so long, because I don't feel like I need someone to go with me on my dangerous endeavors now."

He flashed a smirk my way and raised an eyebrow.

"And just what dangerous endeavors are you thrusting yourself into these days, Miss Granger?"

"Oh well Mister Malfoy, dating an ex death eater sounds quite dodgy to me, wouldn't you say?" I grinned at him from behind the rim of my glass before I swallowed the last of my cocktail.

"Care for another?" He pointed to my now empty drink. I shook my head.

"Better not, I think we both remember all too well what happens when I get intoxicated."

"True." He agreed.

"But you," I pointed lazily at him. "Still haven't answered your own question. Best childhood memory, out with it Buster." He sighed and smiled slightly.

"When I learned to fly. Being able to literally fly away when things got too much to handle was the best thing I could have asked for."

"The best thing?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Well when you already own everything else, yes."

"Oh excuse me rich boy, not all of us had that luxury." I joked, flicking a small piece of lettuce in his direction. It landed limply on his right shoulder. He looked at it for a moment, then chuckled and picked it off.

"If we weren't in the center of the nicest restaurant in Hogsmeade, I wouldn't hesitate to start a food fight with you right now, Granger."

He was right. The bloke sure had taste, I gave him that much. I'll admit, when he had asked me to have dinner with him, my mind had immediately jumped to an image of us sitting at the bar in the Leaky Cauldron sipping fire whiskey and munching on appetizers. I was originally in slacks and a blouse, but as soon as I saw how smartly he was dressed I made him wait outside my door as I jumped into a little black dress and heels and magically fixed my hair. Thank Merlin I did too, all the wizards here looked like something straight from a posh fashion magazine.

"I doubt it Malfoy, you might mess up that perfect hair of yours." He smiled as he ran a hand through his flawless tresses.

"It is perfect, isn't it?"

I grinned to myself.

"I swear Draco, I don't think I have ever met a man so up tight about his hair as you are."

"I'm not 'up tight' as you put it, I'm just neat."

I laughed.

"You're not neat, you're anal."

"I'm organized." He said defensively.

"Whatever makes you feel less feminine…"

"Hey now, I am **all** male. I haven't a drop of femininity in me, I'm as manly as you can get!"

I swallowed a laugh and tried to hide my smile that was growing broader by the moment.

"Alright Mr. Burly Man, did you go to a spa to get your nails done or did you do it yourself?" I threw a look down at his perfectly moisturized and manicured hands before looking him in the eye with a sly grin brazenly plastered on my face. He lifted his chin, nose pointed in the air, and replied in the tone that can only be described as 'Malfoy-esk'.

"My nails are naturally clean and rounded, thank-you-very-much, and you're just jealous that you can't have hands like these."

I let out the girlish giggle that I had been trying to suppress and let my head roll back in gaiety.

"You're large hands would look most ridiculous on my small wrist, don't you think? I highly doubt that it is jealousy that plagues me."

"Well let's just see, shall we?" He reached across the table and aligned his right hand with my left one, comparing them in size. I grinned at the unsurprising difference, and my grin turned into a timid smile when I felt him close his hand around mine and place a chaste kiss on my fingertips. My head instinctively dipped down out of a sort of shyness that I had never been able to purge myself of, and my face radiated an intense heat as I blushed deeply. Recovering from my girlish moment, I stood up, with his hand still clasped in my own. I placed myself in front of him, tugging slightly on his hand that I held.

"Do you dance, Malfoy?" I asked. He chuckled.

"Not in the least bit."

"Marvelous, neither do I. Come on." I pulled him along with me to the section of the classy restaurant reserved for dancing. There was nobody dancing when we first arrived on the floor, but we were soon joined by a frail looking elderly couple. I felt my insides take a turn when Draco placed a hand on my waist, and I had to calm myself before I could properly rest my hand on his shoulder without him feeling it shake. Throughout the relaxed conversation of the dinner, I had forgotten what an affect being in close proximity to him had on me.

He gracefully navigated me around the dance floor to the melodious music, effortlessly avoiding the other couples that had joined so as not to cause to cause an accident.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance."

"I didn't say I couldn't dance, I said I didn't dance."

"And why doesn't someone with your obvious ability charm us all with your suave moves more often?"

"Because I absolutely despise dancing." He replied lightheartedly.

"Ah, but you're dancing with me." I pointed out.

"Yes, yes I am."

A wave of delight coursed through me and I smirked into his shoulder as he brought me closer with a gentle press on the back.

"Does that mean you like me, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Well Miss Granger, I would have to say that it does." The song that we had been swaying to for the last five minutes came to a slow end, and we parted.

"Dessert?" He asked as he led me back to our table.

"Absolutely."

"I must thank you for the wonderful evening, Draco. It was… fun." We stood awkwardly at the door to my office, and I was determined not to let myself get carried away like I had in the dungeons the previous day.

"The pleasure was all mine."

"Ahem, well thank you for walking me to my room, it was very kind of you."

"It was no problem." He moved closer.

"I – I hope you, um… I hope you – "

"Yes?" Closer.

"I hope you find your way back to the dungeons without, um, without any problems."

"I will." Closer still, until I could feel his warm breath on my cheek.

"The – the lighting at this hour… quite terrible…"

"I know." His voice was a mere whisper now, and I had to strain my ears to hear him.

"Okay." I said murmured. In a matter of seconds his lips were on mine, taking my breath away and what was left of my self control. He moved to part my lips with his own, but made no move to incorporate his tongue. It was soft, and sweet, yet dripping with carnal intent. It made my heart pound frantically, and my knees knock together unsteadily. I wanted to invite him in, oh Gods I wanted to invite him in…

But he pulled back, and my head cleared.

I had never felt so resentful towards my reasonable side.

"It's late, I should probably…" I gestured to my door.

"Yeah, I mean, of course. I'll see you tomorrow?"

I nodded and slipped past my door, leaving it open a crack as I watched him disappear around the corner and down the stairs. That night I fell asleep with the goofiest grin on my face that refused to leave for the remainder of the week.

"Good afternoon Molly, Ginny." I said in a singsong voice as I dropped my purse onto the table at the burrow and plopped merrily into a chair next to Ginny. I had just flooed in for tea and a chat with a pair of my favorite people.

"Something's different with you, Hermione." Ginny immediately pointed out.

"Yes, you do have a bit of a jolly aura around you dear." Molly commented. "Has work been well for you?"

"Oh yes," I smirked. "It's been _great_."

"You got a new haircut." Ginny proposed.

"No."

"Went on a shopping spree?"

"Not hardly." I giggled. Ginny gasped and pointed an accusatory finger at me.

"You've been fucked!"

"Ginerva Weasley! If I so much as hear that derogatory word come out of your mouth ever again then so help me Merlin I will –" Molly chastised.

"You **did**, didn't you! I can see it! You're glowing, Hermione. It's obvious that you've been thoroughly shagged." She continued, ignorant to her mother's threat.

"NO! I positively have not been... intimate with anyone! I'm in a good mood is all! My word, Gin, you didn't have to get so worked up about me embracing the day." I took a sip of the tea Molly had set in front of me. "But since you brought it up, I have had a date with someone rather intriguing."

Ginny bounced in her seat giddily, hands clasped together in excitement.

"Oh I knew it! I knew something was going on with you and Malfoy! He forgave you, I take it?"

"Malfoy? As in _Draco_ Malfoy? Why on Earth would you be dating him? And what in the name of magic could you have possibly done to make **him** need to forgive **you**? He is nothing but trouble, I tell you. I should write your father, Hermione; this could be the start of something suspicious." Molly ranted.

"No, mum, you don't understand. Hermione and Malfoy and on good terms with each other now. Or great terms, from what it sounds like."

"Really Molly, it isn't as bad as it sounds. He is actually quite charming and – "

"He just wants to charm the pants right off of your little bum, dear. Don't fall for anything that retched snake says. He's slime, just like the rest of them. Out for that Headmaster position, he is."

"Please, don't be ridiculous. Draco would never do something like that. He has a good heart."

Molly scoffed.

"You want to know who had a good heart? My Arthur had the heart of an angel. My Arthur…"

"Mum, please don't do this now, not in front of Hermione." Ginny whispered to her mother, patting her gently on the hand.

"Please excuse me Hermione, I'm sorry to be like this." Molly shuffled out of the room so that only Ginny and I remained.

"She's been like that a lot lately, all weepy and mopey. It's a bit strange, since she's always been so strong. Don't know what it could be." Ginny said in a hushed tone, in case Molly was just around the corner.

"People can't stay strong forever, Gin. Everyone needs to let it out eventually, and maybe your parent's anniversary is coming up or something."

"Yeah, maybe. I just recon it's hard for her to see everyone in a new relationship, with her still missing dad and all."

"Perhaps… I feel terrible for ruining our tea time."

"Oh please, Mione, you did no such thing. I think she's menopausal you know. The slightest thing can set her off. What I want to hear about is how your date went." Ginny pressed. I was unable to stop myself from grinning like a fool.

"Well he took me to that restaurant that is positively impossible to get into without reservations at least a month in advance, The Shadow Nook." Ginny gasped, obviously impressed. "And he was a total gentleman all throughout dinner, he even danced with me even though he despises it."

"How very charming of him. And that smirk of his?"

"Oh, it was there, but you know, I think I've grown accustom to it."

"And how does it feel to be dating one of your employees?" Seeing as it had been Ginny I was talking to, I decided to confide in her about how I was feeling about the affair, since she already knew anyways.

"It's exhilarating. I think this is the first time I have done something that is against the rules that wasn't done to save the world. It's greedy, and naughty, and wrong, and forbidden and I should be ashamed of my actions."

"But…?"

"But I'm not. And as nervy as that man makes me, I can't wait to see him again."

"Not bad, for a Malfoy."

"Yes," I sighed pensively. "Not bad at all."


	9. Chapter 9

By August, the Saturday evenings that Draco and I had once spent together in my office had morphed into romantic evenings out on the town, and this little change had forced me to do something I was not fond of.

Shopping.

In my wardrobe I had four sets of dress robes, two evening gowns, two cocktail dresses, various articles of mix and match-able casual clothing for weekends and trips home to the muggle world, three pairs of pajamas, two of which I would be absolutely humiliated to be seen in, as well as a drawer full of sensible knickers. I had one pair of slippers, one pair of sandals, two pairs of high heels, one pair of trainers, and two pairs of practical walking shoes that were both comfortable and somewhat fashionable.

My problem was that Draco had already seen me in almost everything I owned, (aside from the hideous jimjams I got from goodness knows where) and it had gotten to the point where I feared where he might take me next, since I was alternating wearing the two dresses I had and he was bound to notice soon. It was also not helping the situation that I had Ginny buzzing about constantly reminding me of all these silly rules, such as:

_"The man should never see you in the same outfit twice for the first month of courtship, or else he will lose interest faster."_

It wasn't as if I couldn't afford it, the new job was paying me almost three times what I was making at the Ministry, and that was already a considerable amount. I had a good eye for fashion as well, so it wasn't as if I was a walking, talking, basket case, I simply did not like shopping. Yet there I was, stuck with only one way out of my predicament.

I was to grab Ginny and a bag of galleons, and shop till I dropped.

I just prayed that I wouldn't drop before I could purchase some attractive jimjams.

On the second Friday of August, Ginny took the day off and arranged to meet me in the center of Diagon Alley for our day of reckless shopping. Armed with as much money as I dared to spend in one day, I spotted the redhead sitting on a bench in front of _Mademoiselle Sylvain's Lingerie_.

"Hi Mione, you ready?" Ginny quipped, her perky and energetic personality shining through with more vivacity than usual.

"Had a few cups of coffee, have you?" I supposed.

"Only a few, I mean when you use those big mugs like the ones they use in America, you can down the pot in about three cups."

"You had an entire pot of coffee by yourself before coming here this morning?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. I've got to be plenty awake while you're trying on half the store, don't I?" She smiled brightly at me before latching onto my arm and dragging me into the fancy panty store. "I thought we would start at the bottom with some new panties and work up to new cocktail dresses and super sexy shoes."

"Nughng…"

"What was that Hermione, I didn't quite catch that?"

"Oh, I said, sounds great."

"Wonderful! I thought you'd be excited. Oooh look! This pair hugs and lifts!"

"Wonderful." I said cynically.

"Ginny!" _wheeze_ "Please, I need –" _wheeze_ "- to sit down for a minute!" I ripped my hand away from her powerful grip and collapsed on a nearby bench, panting heavily.

"Come on Hermione! We need to get to that cute handbag boutique before it closes and it's clear across Diagon Alley!" She proclaimed, tugging on my hand to get me moving again.

"Gin, that boutique doesn't close for another two hours."

"Exactly, do you want to have enough time to find what you need or not?" I gave her my best _you-cannot-be-serious_ look, but she paid no heed.

"Technically, I don't even really need that new handbag, the one I have is just fine." I pointed out smartly.

"Yes, Hermione, your handbag isn't outdated and your ratty jimjams are positively ravishing." She remarked with a roll of her eyes. I crossed my arms and leant against the backrest in a huff.

"Fine, but I'm not going anywhere until I've had a sit down and a good lunch."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine! Let's go get your bleeding lunch then!" Ginny stubbornly relented with a mighty stomp of her foot.

"Fine." We made our way to a café with outdoor seating, and while Ginny paid for our sandwiches at the till, I found us a table sheltered from the bright sunlight by a vibrant orange umbrella. I removed my cardigan and placed in on the back of the patio chair before settling in to wait for Ginny. A waiter brought out two glasses of ice water, and I smiled politely at him before he was beckoned away rudely by a stout man and his scantily clad accomplice at the table across the courtyard. Ginny sat down on the opposite side of the table from me and upturned her nose in disgust.

"That one is rather corpulent, isn't he?" She said, nodding in the direction of the large ill-mannered bloke.

"Yes, quite. A bit brutish it would seem." I made a gagging notion as the man slid his hand ostentatiously up his lunch date's wiry, pale thigh.

"Do you ever wonder how women like her can tolerate a man like that?"

"Its grotesque what some people will do for money." I remarked, unable to stop the twitch of repulsion in my cheek that pulled the corners of my mouth into a scowl. Ginny swallowed her large bite of food and brushed her napkin across her lips.

"Do you ever wonder what happened to that Pansy Parkinson? I always thought she would be hanging off Malfoy's arm with a huge rock on her finger by now."

"Didn't she…" I couldn't bring myself to use the term '_pass away_', that was what you say when your 150 year old grandmother dies peacefully in her sleep of old age. And I couldn't say '_murder_' because that was much too heavy for lunchtime gossip. "… Didn't she fall in the war?"

Eh, close enough.

"No, she left with the rest of the students on the train earlier that day. Didn't you hear? She never graduated, didn't pass Transfiguration and Charms."

"How coincidental."

"Mmhmm."

We were silent for awhile, as each of us ate our lunches with fervor. I was consuming my food so quickly because of my ravenous hunger, but I had a feeling that Ginny was wolfing hers down out of eagerness to get to that blasted handbag boutique.

"You don't suppose she's still around, do you?" Ginny asked.

"Who?"

"Parkinson."

"No, she must be long gone. Her family moved to Greece, and I can only assume that she moved with them, especially if she isn't married. Girls like her don't dare leave their parents until they've been given away."

"How do you know they moved?"

"I worked for the Ministry, Gin. How else do you think I would know these things?"

"Well bugger if I know, you've got so much information and so many useless facts stored up in that big 'ol head of yours that I've got no clue where it all comes from."

"Gee, thanks."

"I meant that in a good way."

"I know." I drained the last of my water and dried my lips on the napkin. "Shall we be off then?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Ginny quickly abandoned the remainder of her food and snatched up her jumper. "Let's go."

"Gin, there is no way I need seven."

"Yes you do."

"You're forgetting that I already own two."

"And **you're** forgetting that you have owned them for almost as long as you've had Crookshanks."

"Don't you bring Crooks into this, and he's only…" Ginny raised her eyebrows. "… he's only…" she tapped her foot impatiently on the marble floor of the dress shop. "… he's not that old!"

"Hermione – "

"Well he wasn't exactly a kitten when I got him." I tried to defend myself, or rather, my aged black dresses.

"I'm just saying, it's nice to have options."

"Yes, and if I let you talk me into purchasing everything you have in your hand there, I will have a choice between emerald green, ruby red, brushed silver, cerulean blue, peach, royal violet, and chocolate brown."

"See? Aren't choices lovely? And you really should take advantage of your versatile skin tone more often."

I glared at her, hoping it would awaken some reason inside her.

"Oh just think of it this way Mione, if you buy them all now then you won't have to buy more for a very long time."

So perhaps she had a tiny point there. Each dress was cut differently in a flattering style, and the colors certainly did give me wide variety, however,

"Ginny, just look at those price tags."

"I know, I know, but they will pay off in the long run. And just look how perfectly this one matches the clutch we just bought from the boutique!"

"I don't know…"

"And you know that darling pink shawl that mum gave you for Christmas last year? It would go beautifully with the peach toned dress."

"Eh…"

"And those sexy red pumps that we bought earlier? You can't find a better match than with this red one."

"And you know how much Malfoy loves green – "

"Oh Ginny just stop it. I'll get them all if I can go home now."

"Brilliant! You won't be sorry Mione!" Ginny rushed off to the till, happily proclaiming to the check-out witch, "We'll take them all!" I sighed as I withdrew my coin purse from my bag, already much lighter than what I had started with. I purposely ignored the witch when she told me what I owed, and I simply handed her the coins, not wanting to know the large sum I was recklessly spending on material items.

An hour later, as many shops began to draw their shutters and lock their doors, I said goodbye to Ginny and caught the floo back to my office, bogged down by the weight of the shopping bags.

I climbed up the spiral staircase wearily, and deposited the merchandise onto my bed. Grabbing a pin from my dresser, I twisted my hair up off my neck and pinned it back, and peeled off my cardigan. The room was hot and suffocating, more so than usual. It was hot, even for August. I cast a cooling charm on the room, sighing in delight as the refreshing air hit the damp bare skin of my back.

"Ahhhhh…" I flopped back on to the bed, letting my shoes slide off as I did so. Not a moment after I had started to relax, there was a pecking at my window. Forcing my head up, I saw a large tawny Hogwarts owl hovering before the glass, waiting for me to accept the letter he was carrying.

Ugh.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." I told the insistent bird. Hauling myself back to my feet, and pushed up the window and invited him in. He stuck his leg out for me, and I gently untied the parchment. Without giving so much of a chance to say thank you, he soared right out the window from which he came, leaving me alone with the letter.

_Hermione_,

It was from Draco.

_Any chance you would care to dine with me tonight? I know a great little place just south of you, I'm sure you would love it._

_Missing you terribly,  
Yours truly,  
Draco Malfoy_

I smiled at his words, '_missing you terribly_', I had just seen him at breakfast that morning.

Turning the letter over, I scrawled "Of course, give me a when and where." on the back, and threw the letter, along with a pinch of floo powder, into the fireplace that was linked to his office. I wasn't much in the mood for an evening out after all the shopping I had done earlier, I was quite tired, but my desire to spend time with Draco was stronger than my desire for sleep.

I decided that I should probably bathe before I saw him, after a long day of running about, I was sure I didn't look my best. The shower refreshed me to a degree, putting a little life back in my limbs, and clearing my head. I looked over the bags that covered all but a small section of my large bed with my hands on my hips. Tissue paper was spilling out from some, and lids from shoe boxes peeked out of others. In my earlier carelessness to rid myself of the bags and packages one of the bags containing stockings and knickers was completely overturned, with its contents decorating my pillows in a colorful and lacy manner. I sighed, it was bit overwhelming.

My fireplace glowed green, and seconds later parchment came spitting out. I caught it and brushed away some ash, then searched for the reply.

_9:00, my room._

Glancing at the clock, the hands showed 8:56 leaving me only a moment to dress. I grabbed the dark green dress, the strappy silver heels I was swayed to buy despite their impracticality, a pair of my new "Ginny approved" panties, and the other undergarments that were required when wearing this dress, and changed as quickly as possible. My hair and makeup, which I usually do on my own, was done with a swish of my wand, and all I had left to do was dab on a bit of perfume behind my ears and wrists, and I was out the door, grabbing my cloak from the hook as I went.

Down, down, and down some more until I finally reached Draco's apartments in the dungeon. The clacking of my shoes echoed off of the high stone walls, and with the corridor as dimly lit as it was, I couldn't help but be a little apprehensive. The dungeons never ranked among my favorite places. I was reassured, however, when I saw Draco standing in front of his own doorway, dressed handsomely in some of his finest dress robes.

"Mademoiselle," he gave a small bow and took my hand gently, kissing my fingers. "You look stunning this evening." He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was raking his eyes over my body, and didn't express a shred of embarrassment when I caught him.

I couldn't help but smile and give a mock curtsy back. "You look quite debonair yourself."

"Thank you. Shall we?" he extended his arm for me to take.

"Of course. Where are we going tonight?"

"Just a little place I stumbled upon." he turned to walk back inside of room.

"Did you forget something?" I asked.

"Merlin, I hope not. Welcome to _tour du Malfoy_." The door was pushed open, and he ushered me inside.

I gasped. "Oh Draco,"

"Yes?"

"This is magnificent."

Candles magically hung in the air, illuminating his common room and giving it a soft glow, taking away the harshness of the usual atmosphere that barks Slytherin. A scrumptious looking meal for two was set up in the corner on silver dishes, and when I listened, I could hear soft music playing.

"I thought we could stay in tonight." he placed his hands on my hips and whispered in my ear. I turned to face him with a knowing smile on my lips.

"I think that is a stupendous idea." I said before capturing his lips with mine.


End file.
